Soulmate
by xXToxicValentineXx
Summary: Autumn doesn't realize that her favorite turtles from TV are real, just in another dimension! One night Karai finds a way to kidnap her and take her to their dimension. The only way Autumn can get home is if she helps Karai in her plan to destroy the turtles from the very core; their home. But there's something Karai won't tell her. Will Autumn help her, or do what her heart begs?
1. Kidnapped

"Autumn, get in here!"

Green eyes looked up from the book she was reading and sighed. Her aunt had just walked in the door and was already calling her into the kitchen. Autumn dog eared the page she was on and set the book down. As she walked through the living room and into the kitchen thoughts of the book she was reading began to skim through her mind.

It was called The Host. It's about an alien named Wanderer who gets put into the body of a girl named Melony. When Wanderer finds Melony's family, who's hiding from the ongoing invasion, the only ones who trust her are Melony's little brother and uncle, and a man named Ian. Melony's boyfriend hates her, and it takes almost the whole book for him to finally agree to trust her. In the end, Wanda ends up in someone else's body and Melony gets hers back. Wanda ends up falling in love with Ian, and he returns the feelings.

Autumn grinned. She adored the thought of forbidden love. Not like Romeo and Juliet where the families don't approve, but the kind of love almost no one would approve. She was a good kid all around, but she was definitely a rule breaker. She loved the idea of making other's irritated with her decisions.

"Why didn't you put my blanket in the dryer?" Her heart sank at hearing her aunts words. She blinked before answering. "I forgot.. I'm sorry. But I vacuumed the living room, dusted, cleaned the windows and front door, mopped the kitchen and both bathrooms, I cleaned both bathrooms, and I vacuumed your room, my room, and the living room. I also cleaned the kitchen, walked the dog, and fed him."

She hoped that maybe her aunt hearing that she's remembered to do all her other chores would make her understand, but there was no such luck. Her aunt snorted. "Well, next time remember to check the washer and put my stuff in the dryer." Autumn sighed. "Okay." Her aunt whipped around. "What was that?" Autumn stood up straighter, gritting her teeth as she said, "I mean, yes mam."

Her aunt dismissed her to go back to her room, for that she was grateful for. She pushed her bedroom door open and looked around at all the posters on her wall. Too many boy bands for the normal teenage eyes. One Direction was the main band, followed by Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil. There was one My Chemical Romance, and one Fall Out Boy. She put her hands on her hips and smiled. The room was her only sanctuary.

She walked over to her bed and sat down. Her sheets, pillow cases, and comforter were all black. She liked the color black because it could go with anything. She could add anything to her room and it wouldn't clash with the colors of her bed. She glanced over at her book, debating whether she wanted to continue reading it. She decided against it as she leaned down and pulled out her laptop from underneath her bed.

She opened it and bit her lip as she typed in her password. Her loose black curls fell in front of her face and she tried to blow them away. When that failed she resorted to just tucking them behind her ear. She checked her email quickly, then sighed as she sat back, not knowing what to do.

She stood up and walked to her TV stand, opening the small cabinet below to go through her video games. She only resorted to her video games when she had nothing else to do, because she'd already beaten them all five times over.

She scanned over all her Black Ops and Call of Duty, deciding she wasn't really in the mood for any shooting games. None of her Need for Speed and other racing games caught her eye either. Her eyes stopped on a certain game that she hadn't played in almost a year. TMNT.

She paused for minute before finally reaching in and pulling it out. She wasn't going to play it because that game was so far easy she'd beat it again for the 10th time in less than an hour. Her green eyes ran over the cover with sudden interest as she walked to her dresser with it.

She reached inside one of her drawers and pulled out a few pieces of white paper, her pencil, and colored pencils. She walked back over to her bed and pulled her Monopoly game from underneath it, which she only used when she was drawing or writing.

She went through her laptop and opened up her internet radio, putting on her Taylor Swift station. She country music she knew all too well began to play softly through her speakers as she placed the board game on her lap and a piece of paper right on top of it.

She looked back at the game cover and decided which of the turtles she wanted to draw. Mikey would be too easy, she'd perfected him by the time she was twelve. Donnie was too simple as well, because his weapon being a bo made him no challenge at all. She then looked at the two older brothers, her eyes landing on Raphael. He was her favorite to draw, because she loved adding hidden emotions to him that he never seemed to show or admit.

She began working on her sketch at once. It was him sitting on a roof top, looking out at the city. At first glance you wouldn't be able to read his expression, but as Autumn added darker green shades to his face, and darker browns and lighter golds to his eyes, you could see the emotion he was feeling clear as day. He was lonely.

She sketched the city around in him choppy lines in black and white, making the main focus of the drawing him. He was looking up to the sky, almost as if making a wish. Once she was finished after about an hour, she lifted it up and smiled. It had been almost a year since she'd even given the turtle brothers a thought.

They were her main obsession from the age of eight all up until last summer. She was sixteen now, and had other things to worry about other than fictional combat turtles. When she was younger, she'd wish every night that she could meet them.

She couldn't help but grin. She'd been so silly to think that they could possibly be real. Even if they were, by now they'd be about forty of fifty. She giggled at the thought of them with wrinkles and old person glasses. She wondered how well they'd be able to fight then.

She looked at the time on her computer and realized it was almost two in the morning. She yawned at her sudden tiredness as she closed her laptop and sliding it and the board game back under her bed. She walked over and placed the paper and pencils back where they had been, but kept the drawing in hand. She walked back to her bed and picked up the video game, placing it back underneath her TV stand.

She pulled the covers back on her bed and climbed in. She looked at the picture one more time before folding it up and placing it under her pillow. She sighed, letting out a long and happy breath as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

It seemed like only ten minutes later when she woke up. Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up in bed and looked around. Something felt off, but she pushed the thought away. She always got that feeling late at night. She threw the covers off of herself as she got out of bed.

She quietly made her way to the kitchen to get a drink. Her mouth had been extremely dry when she awoke. She grabbed a small grey mug from the cabinet and placed it under the sink facet as she turned the knob, letting it fill with cool water. She drank the water quickly and placed the mug in the dish drainer, then began to return to her room.

She pushed open her door and frowned. Her window was open. The blue curtains were blowing slightly from the breeze. She sighed, realizing she must have left it open from last night. She almost always had her window open, it made her feel less trapt.

She shut the door behind her and made her way to the window. She was almost there when someone spoke, making her freeze in place.

"You must be Autumn."

The voice was soft, yet strong. The voice sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite figure out where she'd heard it. Autumn turned her head to where the voice had come from, but saw nothing but the darkness of her room.

"Great, now I'm hearing stuff." She mumbled as she turned back to her window.

"You most certainly are not hearing things."

Autumn shot her head back around and almost screamed. A woman was standing there looking at her. She had short black hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, and she was extremely skinny. She was in an all black jump suit, and her cold dark eyes bore into her own green.

"How the hell did you get in my room?" She growled. The woman just smiled. "You foolishly left it unlocked." Autumn nodded at this, knowing it was true. She did leave her window unlocked. She she stared at the woman more, she realized exactly who she reminded her off and laughed.

"You do realize that Halloween isn't for another two months, right?" The woman narrowed her eyes. "This is not a costume." Autumn just smiled and shook her head. "Oh please. You sneak into my room dressed as Karai and you expect me to believe you're really her? You make me laugh. Get out of my room."

In an instant something with a shiny point was only inches from her face. She swollowed hard as she realized it was the tip of a sword. The woman narrowed her eyes even more. "How do you know my name?" She hissed. Autumn rolled her eyes.

"First of all, I still don't think you're Karai. And second of all, any person who's even seen Ninja Turtles knows her name and who she is. I mean she's Shredder's daughter, for crying out loud!" She threw her hands up for dramatic effect. After a moment she realized the woman was only more confused and she blinked at her.

"Are you seriously telling me you've never heard of the Ninja Turtles?" She woman stood still, eyes still narrowed. Autumn almost gasped. "They have five movies, three different cartoon series, comics, and more video games than you can keep up with! Everyone knows who they are, how do you not?"

The woman finally lowered her sword and stared at Autumn. Her dark eyes searched hers for any signs of lying. "Prove it." She insisted. Autumn cocked her head to the side. "I shouldn't have to prove anything. I mean you could just search them on the internet, but okay."

She walked over to her TV stand and reached in, pulling out the TMNT game and handed it to the woman. She looked over the cover, eyes widening slightly. After moments of staring at it, she set in on the bed and looked back at Autumn.

"Then it is true. So you know of the turtles?" Autumn just smiled and rolled her eyes. "Who doesn't?" The woman smiled back at her. "Good, that means less explaining to do." Autumn stopped smiling and looked at her. "Explaining what?"

"My name is Karai, I am the Karai you speak of. I have come with my ninja from another dimension to find you." Autumn raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm just going to go along with this like I believe you. Uhm, why me?" She asked. Karai threw her hand up.

"All will be explained. For now, I need you to gather things together in a bad. Only the necessities like clothes." Autumn shook her head. "Whoa whoa, hold on. Why am I getting my stuff together?" She asked. Karai didn't even smile.

"You're coming back with us."

Autumn's green eyes grew wide. "What?! Like hell!" She shot a glare at Karai, and then Karai pointed the sword in her face again. "You will come. I already have four of my ninja in your parents room, if you refuse my offer they will not see tomorrow."

Autumn gritted her teeth. "They aren't my parents." She growled. "None the less, their lives will be taken if you do not cooperate."

Autumn thought it over. No, she didn't get along with her aunt and uncle. They were making her clean the whole house every day and still bitched if she got it done. Her aunt was always bitching over stupid things, and her uncle was a violent and abusive drunk.

Even with all that, they still didn't deserve to die just because Autumn wouldn't agree. She sighed and looked at te ground.

"Fine, I'll go." She whispered in defeat. Karai lowered the sword and smiled. "Good. Now gather your things and hurry. I am not the patient type."

Autumn silently cursed herself as she went into her closet and turned the light on. She shut the door behind her so she could change out of her pajamas and into real clothes. She slid the black tank top and black shorts off and placed them in her large Rasta bag.

She put in five band t-shirts, along with a midnight blue v-neck and a red tank top. She added with them a pair of faded cut off blue jeans, a pair of black skinny jeans, and three pairs of blue jean skinnies, one of which had slits up the front. She grabbed her black belt, along with her black boots, red converse, and black converse. She threw in socks, undergarments, and the spair set of peppermint shampoo and conditioner she kept in her closet.

She reached up and grabbed a black t-shirt that had a white zombie kitten on it with glowing green around it. She slid on her lime green skinny jeans, and put on her black and green paint platter converse with lime green shoe laces. She opened the dresser in her closet and pulled out her small makeup bag and slid it in the bad.

She walked out of the closet to find Karai still waiting for her. She had the back strapped on her back and she put a hand on her hip. "Can I go get my tooth-brush from the bathroom?" She asked, getting annoyed with the whole situation. Karai simply nodded, and Autumn went to the bathroom and fetched her hair and tooth brushes and tooth paste.

When she came back in her room Karai was standing at the open window with the curtains pulled aside. "Now." She ordered. Autumn narrowed her eyes. "Bosy much?" She mumbled under her breath. She walked to the window and stopped, looking down at the pillow she'd been laying on just a few minutes before.

"What is it?" Karai hissed as Autumn slid her hand under the pillow and pulled out a small folded piece of paper, then slipping it into her pocket. "It's a drawing I did earlier, I want to take it with me." Karai rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

Autumn followed her out the window and Karai led her to a large black van. Once inside Autumn noticed four ninja in the back seats. Karai got in the drivers side and Autumn sat in the passenger seat. Karai pulled out a necklace that had been hidden under her hood.

It had a silver chain, but there was a dark pink jewel set in the middle. Autumn's eyes grew wide as she blinked at it. "Whoa.." She whispered as Karai began to quietly chant strange words that Autumn couldn't understand. _Probably Japanese.._

Suddenly there was a blue flash, and Autumn instantly fell unconscious.


	2. Betrayal

Autumn moaned as she felt herself slowly begin to regain consciousness. She was laying on a hard floor and her head felt like she'd been knocked in the head with a metal baseball bat.

Her eyelids fluttered open. The first thing she noticed was the white ceiling. She looked around to see the walls were white too, as well as the floor. She pushed herself into a sitting position and noticed the room was completely empty. There was only a single door on the left wall, no windows or vents.

_I'm going to suffocate, I should have known better than to trust Karai._ She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then stretched her tense muscles. "This is the weirdest and longest dream I've ever had. Probably cause of that stupid picture I just had to sketch," she mumbled to herself.

Her eyes shot open as she shoved her hand in her pocket, pulling out the folded piece of paper. She unfolded it then stared at it. It was definitely the same picture she'd drawn. She traced the outlines and edges with the tip of her finger. After another moment she folded it back up and placed it back into her pocket.

As soon as she had it put away, the door opened. She looked up to see Karai walk in and the door shut behind her. Autumn narrowed her eyes. "Where's my bag?" She asked, her voice slightly pitched. Karai looked down at her with a look of almost disgust. Autumn gritted her teeth before Karai answered.

"It is in another room. We had to make sure you didn't bring anything that could be used against us. Now, we have a matter to discuss." Autumn sat up straight and crossed her arms. "Yeah, let's talk about how you kidnapped me and you're so damn crazy you want to sit here and play pretend. You're a grown ass woman." She hissed.

Karai chuckled slightly. "It's amusing that you still think I am not real. I am Karai, daughter of Oroku Saki. I traveled to your dimension and have brought you here. I have a job for you. You should take that as an honor." Autumn raised an eyebrow. "What kind of job?" Karai smiled.

"You are to help me destroy the turtles."

Autumn's eyes grew wide and she shot to her feet, throwing up her hands and waved them back and forth in a denying manner. "Whoa, hold on a minute. I'm not helping you-" "Silence!" Karai spat. "You must help me! If you wish to return to your own dimension alive, you will help me."

Autumn snorted. "I'm not hurting them, so you can just throw that at the window."

"Oh, but you won't have to hurt them. In the plan you meerly pose as.. a distraction."

"Why do you need me?"

"That does not matter. You will simply get them to trust you. That's all you must do for now. I will inform you later on what you must do to complete the task. Do not worry, harm to the turtles will not be from your hand."

Autumn looked Karai up and down. She knew from the TV shows and movies that Karai was an excellent liar and amazing at deceiving. She couldn't be trusted. If this was the real Karai, Autumn was going to have to be good at lying herself if she wanted to get out of here alive. Karai interrupted her thoughts as she continued.

"Help me with this, and I will return you home at the precise time we took you, as if you had never even left. I will also erase your memory of this whole ordeal. You won't remember a thing, in case you're worried about regretting anything."

There was a long pause, then Autumn looked into her brown eyes and nodded. "Tell me what I need to do."

* * *

Leonardo paused on the roof top of the abandoned hotel and turned to his brothers. They all stopped running and looked at him with confused expressions.

"What is it, Leo?" Donatello asked.

Leonardo looked across the cities horizon with slit eyes. "It's been too quiet. We haven't seen or heard from The Foot in almost two months."

Michelangelo stepped forward and shrugged. "Isn't that a good thing? We probably scared them into their tower. We kicked shell in the last fight." He grinned, flexing his arms as he did so. Leonardo just shook his head.

"It means they're planning something, Mikey."

Michelangelo stopped his grinning and looked between his brothers, a look of slight fear. Raphael stepped forward, arms crossed. "I say we go to the Foot Tower and find out what's going on."

Leonardo shook his head once more. "We can't just barge in there. For one, they might be expecting that. Two, we have no idea what to look for. We'd be like kids set loose in a mall and told to go find a specific shirt, with no description whats so ever."

Donatello nodded, agreeing with his older brother. "Leo's right. We don't have any leads. We're going to have to wait until we get something to work with."

Raphael was about to argue more when there was a piercing scream. They all instinctively took off in the direction it had come from. Leonardo stopped dead, throwing up his hand to let them know they'd arrived, and to be silent.

"What is it, Leo?" Michelangelo whispered. Leonardo pressed a finger to his lips, then pointed to the alley just below them.

A girl was slowly backing into the wall. She had a large bag on her back, like she was heading somewhere. At least ten Foot members were closing in on her. The girl let out another terrified shriek, and Leonardo gave the signal to attack.

Everything happened in a flash. In seconds the turtles were on the floor below, beating the snot out of the Foot. Autumn's eyes grew wide the moment she saw them.

"They're real.. Oh my God, they're real.." She whispered. Karai had told her they were real, but she hadn't really believed it. How can she not believe it now, looking at them fighting only feet in front of her?

Autumn was frozen against the wall. She wasn't sure what to do next. All Karai told her was that it would look like she was being attacked, they'd save her, and then she would gain they're trust. Panicked thoughts ran through her mind on how she was supposed to get them to trust her. The scene in front of her was mearly a blur when there was a sudden crash on her head, sending a wave of pain through her body.

She slumped to the floor, stars exploding her vision. "Sorry, Mistress Karai ordered me to do that," she heard a voice whisper just before everything went black.

* * *

Autumn was vaguely aware of being carried. She could hear the sounds of water running, dripping sounds. Someone had strong arms holding underneath her, carrying her bridal style. She felt that her body was pressed against something hard and her brow creased in confusion. Her head hurt so bad she didn't even want to open her eyes, much less move.

"So am I the only one that has a feeling that Splinter is going to like flip about this?" A voice asked. It sounded like an older male, but also young at the same time.

"He'll be upset at first, but once we explain what happened I think he'll be okay with it." The second voice sounded older and.. intelligent. Autumn almost laughed at the thought. How could a voice sound smart?

"What I want to know is what the Foot wanted with her. They aren't Purple Dragons, they don't attack just for the heck of it. They always have a reason." The third voice sounded a lot older, more mature than the first two.

"Well it's not like we coulda left her there unconscious." This voice sounded a lot closer, like he was only inches from her ear. It was a strong Brooklyn accent, and it sounded all too familiar. Memories began to swim in Autumn's mind.

Her eyes shot open. She didn't even bother to look around, she knew exactly where she was and who she was with. She had to get out, now.

She instantly threw herself out of Raphael's arms, pushing him backwards. There was a loud grunt as Autumn ran past him, running in the direction they must have just come from. She didn't look where she was going and she didn't bother to turn around.

"Don, she woke up early!" Raphael's angry voice growled. Autumn ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She knew these guys were fast as hell, and she had almost no hope out running them. Still, she had to. They're safety depended on it.

Water began soaking through her shoes, slimy water squeezing between her toes. Her thoughts instantly went to the fact that she didn't have her bag on her back. She silently cursed under her breath as she realized one of the turtles must be carrying it. She pushed thoughts of the bag in the back of her mind, realizing that she would be able to run much fast without it and had a better chance.

She jumped over a half fallen pipe and almost slipped in her landing. Her cheeks grew hot at the thought of someone seeing that, remembering the time when she slipped in orange juice in the middle of lunch in middle school. Everyone had laughed at her for months over it.

She took a sharp corner and began breathing heavily. She wasn't used to running, she'd never been the athletic type. She wasn't fat or even chubby, but she had meat on her. Her pants size were a two, and she wore a medium in shirts. She had a flat stomach but her bra size was a D, the reasoning for having to wear a medium.

The sewers began getting slightly darker so she could hardly see now. She continued to run, not caring where she was going. She had to get far enough away to where she'd have time to climb up a man-hole before they caught up to her.

A loud hiss caught her attention and she froze in place, eyes growing wide in horror at the sight in front of her. A large albino crocodile began to slowly swim closer to her, making a low noise that was a hiss and a growl. Autumn backed up against the wall.

She attempted to let out a scream, but nothing came out. Her mouth was wide open but no air would escape her lungs. She couldn't breath and panic was beginning to take over. The crocodile began to crawl onto the side of the sewer, attempting to get closer.

_Oh shit, I'm going to die.. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die.._ It was almost three feet from her now, hissing and growling. It's dark pink eyes glared at her, hungry showing brightly in them. It's mouth flew open, ready to eat her in one bite.

In that second instinct kicked in. Her foot flew forward before she even realized what she was doing. She kicked it right in the snot with all the force her legs would allow after all the running. The kick sent the crocodile sliding back halfway into the water, shaking it's face in confusion. A sharp pain ran from her ankle and up her leg, making her gasp.

Only a second later it glared at her again, letting out a loud hiss as it lunged at her. Autumn threw her arms up to cover her face as she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed further against the wall, sliding to the floor. She waited for death to come, but it never did.

There was loud shouting, and loud thuds and splashes that oddly reminded her of the sounds made while playing the game Chicken in a pool.

"Grab her and get away from here, now!" Autumn knew by the commanding tone in the voice it had to be Leo that spoke. Barely a second later Autumn was once again lifted from the ground.

"Put me down!" She shrieked as she tried to push away from whoever was carrying her.

"That only worked last time cause I thought ya were still out cold." Raph hissed in her ear. Autumn could only see the outlined shadow of his face, but she glared and narrowed her eyes all the same.

"You don't even fucking get it, you idiot!" She yelled, still trying to get away. His arms tightened around her, almost crushing her ribs. Anger flared inside her at his ignorance to her warning.

She said nothing as he paused, waiting for his brothers to follow. After about a minute or two Autumn could hear their foot steps.

"Whoa, brave dudette took on the mighty albino crock all on her own! She gets total bad ass chick points for that." Mikey beamed at her.

Autumn crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as Leo walked up to her. He returned her glare.

"What the hell was that? We're trying to help you!" He asked. Autumn was about to say something with Don interrupted her. "I know our appearance might frighten you, but we aren't going to eat you like that crocodile over there." He promised.

Autumn rolled her eyes. "I know! God, I know! I'm not _afraid_ of you, you thick headed reptiles!" She spat. They all looked at her, obviously taken aback. Mikey's eyes grew wide and he crossed his arms.

"Well, this is knew. I totally don't know how to handle this. I'm used to them screaming or fainting."

She struggled slightly in Raph's arms. "If you could let me down, that'd be great." He snorted at her words. "Please, you think I'm stupid enough to let you down after that stunt you just pulled?" Autumn wiggled her right foot and winced slightly. "Yeah, I don't think I could run away again even if I _tried_."

"Are you hurt?" Don asked. Autumn turned to him. "Yeah, my ankle. That's why I can't run. I don't like being carried, so let me down." She growled at Raph. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan on walking if your ankle is busted?" He joked.

Autumn narrowed her eyes again. "It's called_ limping_, thank you very much. It's something I'm quite capable of." After a pause, she felt herself get lowered to the ground. She set her let foot down, and then the right. Another pain wave passed through her, but she ignored it from fear of having to be carried again.

"You're all idiots. You should have let me get eaten and not saved me." Leo shook his head. "Why would we do that? We weren't just going to let you die." Autumn signed, becoming slightly impatient. Leo was supposed to be smarter than this.

"Do I look special to you?" She asked. He blinked at her words, surprised by her question. "Well..."

"Exactly. That's because I'm not special. The Foot don't want me, they want_ you_. You really think Karai isn't capable of setting a trap for the dear Hero's of honor?" Her voice was like ice now, determined to make them understand what she was saying. They did.

They pulled out their weapons quickly and looked around them, as if they expected to get jumped right then and there. "You agreed to trick us?" Raph spat, looking like he was ready to drive his sai through her throat. Autumn huffed a breath.

"Calm down, don't jump out of your shell just yet, Raphael. I'm not actually working for her. I had to agree to work for her so she'd let me live." Don looked at her, lowering his bo. "What does she want you to do?" He asked, his voice only a meer whisper, as if scared of the answer.

Autumn shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. All she would tell me was that she needed me to help.. destroy you. I don't even know _why_ she needs me, but I'm not helping her."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "You do realize by defying her she'll kill you." He explained. Autumn glared at him, her green eyes flaring. "You think I don't already know that, Leonardo? I'm not stupid. I know what the consequences are. I'm willing to accept them as long as it means you and your brothers are okay."

She turned and began to limp down the tunnel, away from the direction the crock had been. "Why would you give your life for us?"

Autumn stopped dead at Leo's question. How was she supposed to answer that? She had no way to explain to them that she was from a different dimension where they were on TV and movies, they'd never even believe her. They'd assume she was just lying to help Karai.

"Let's just say I know more about you guys than you think." She said it softly, but knew he'd be able to hear her. She turned to continue limping when everything seemed to sway. She paused, blinking rapidly to try to push it away. The dizziness only intensified, and for the second time that night she passed out and fell into blackness.

* * *

Autumn woke up on an unfamiliar bed. She moaned and rolled over. "This whole waking up after passing out is getting really old, fast.." She mumbled as she pushed herself into a sitting up position.

"How are you felling?"

Her eyes shot open and looked directly into a pair of dark brown ones. Her first thought was that she was back in the Foot Tower, and her eyes grew wide with fear. Then she realized that these brown eyes were soft and kind, not dark and evil. She blinked and realized it was Don.

She could finally see him now. Whatever room they were in actually had lighting. His skin was a light olive green, his eyes a dark mocha brown. His plastron was a dark cream, or light brown. She could only see part of his shell, which seemed to be a dark brown. His muscles were perfectly defined, and she could see veins at certain parts of his arms. He had three fingers, just like the movies.

"I, uh.. Fine I guess," she murmured. He nodded simply and sighed. "How long were you at the tower?" He asked.

Autumn had to think for a minute. There hadn't been a clock anywhere she went, and she hadn't been allowed to see her ipod in her bag. Her brow creased as she thought. "Three days.. I think. I couldn't tell the time." She looked up at him and he nodded again.

"How many times did you eat, and what did you eat?"

"The gave me oatmeal the first time I woke up there, and then after that they gave me an apple before we left to do the whole set up. I only got two small cups of water a day." She sighed. He nodded again. "You passed out from mal nutrition. Running wasn't the best idea, by the way. Your heart is really weak from lack of food and water, you could have had a heart attack or a stroke."

Autumn raised an eyebrow. "I though that was only old people?" She asked. He shook his head. "Actually, almost anyone at any age can have one. It just depends." Autumn was about to reply when someone interrupted her.

"Good, she's up. Time for questions."

Autumn almost moaned. Raph, Leo, and Mikey walked into Don's lab. "How did you know our names?" Leo asked simply.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, next question."

Raph gritted his teeth, easily loosing his temper with the girl. "Alright, what is it that we wouldn't believe?"

"Trust me, even if I answered you'd just throw a thousand more questions at me."

"Well, then maybe I should sit down." Raph grabbed a stool on wheels and set himself on his, crossing his arms. Leo stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe I should take it from here, bro." He turned to Autumn.

"I know you probably think we won't believe you, but you'd be surprised. Of all the things we've seen and been through, I think we can handle it." Autumn looked up at him for a minute, then sighed.

"I'm not from here.." She trailed off. Leo nodded. "Where are you from?"

"Texas," she said bluntly. Leo raised an eyebrow. "I don't see why-"

"From another dimension."

He paused before putting his hands on his hips. Don chuckled next to her. "Well, now I see why she was afraid we wouldn't believe her." Autumn glanced at him, and smirked. "That's not even the best part." "Then what's the best part."

"The dimension I'm from you guys are a cartoon on TV." They all blinked at her, and she took their silence as the go to continue. "You were created in a comic by these guys, and then you were made into a TV series in the 90s. Then three live action movies were made, which by the way were good but the costumes sucked hard core. Then in 2003 they made another TV series, my favorite. Then they made a movie in 2007 called TMNT, which by the way is exactly what you look like from. Then in 2012 another TV series came out, and it's still going."

No one spoke for a minute, but none to her surprise Mikey was the first. "So uh.. What did we do in the shows and movies?" He asked. Autumn grinned, knowing her answer would please him. "Kicked butt mostly. You guys would beat the snot out of Shredder, The Foot, and Purple Dragons. Hun was always the second most annoying bad guy to me. Shredder was the first though, that guy just refuses to die."

Mikey threw up his arms. "I know, right! I can't even count on my fingers how many times we killed that guy and he just came back to life!" Autumn smirked at him. "You only have six, Mikey." He grinned. "I know."

Raph cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "How do we know we can trust ya?" He asked. Autumn thought for a moment. The only thing she'd brought with her besides what was in her bag was her drawing. Her cheeks turned red at the thought of showing that to them. Then a lightbulb went off in her head.

"Bring me my bag!" She demanded. A second later it was set on the bed next to her. She turned to Don and he smiled. "Mikey carried it for you, we brought it in here in case you'd want it when you woke up." She nodded slowly, unzipping the bag.

She reached to the bottom and pulled out her ipod and the ipod charger. "Does your TV have a USB plug?" She asked. Don nodded, and she smiled. "Good, cause I think I'm in the mood for a movie night."

Ten minutes later her ipod was plugged into the TV, playing the 2007 TMNT movie. She sat on the couch between Mikey and Don. Raph sat in the recliner, and Leo sat indian style on the floor. Autumn felt a little embarrassed at the fact she was grinning like an idiot as it reached the part where it began to introduce all the turtles.

"Am I really that handsome?" Mikey asked as he smiled big. Autumn rubbed the top of his head. "Sure, kid." She teased. He turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Kid? How old are you?" Autumn smiled. "Sixteen." "Yeah, well we're nineteen so you're the kid!" Autumn swatted at him until he returned to watching the movie. She just laughed.

"What's so funny?" Raph asked. Autumn shrugged. "Nothing, I just haven't seen this movie in like a year. I forgot how much I love it. Now shut up, your part is coming up." Just as she said that, the Leo in the movie looked up at April. "Alright, let's hear it. What's Raph doing?" "No one really knows, he just sleeps all day.." Leo looked up with a worried expression. "Well, what's he do all night?"

It flashed to the scene where it introduces the Nightwatcher, and Autumn started with her grinning fit again. "Now what?" Raph mumbled. Autumn didn't stop grinning this time. "This part is just so bad-ass." The screen flashed to where the burglars were leaving the bank, and the guy with a toaster. Just then a pair os chains shot out, dragging two of the guys into a dark ally.

Everyone watched the rest of the movie in utter silence. Once the credits came up Autumn stood to her feet and turned to face them all, hands on her hips.

"Now do you believe me?"

They all nodded, and Raph snorted. "Am I tha only one who thought it was weird to watch myself on TV?" He asked. Leo and Don nodded, but Mikey shook his head.

"No, dude! We kicked shell!" He threw his fists into the air in triumph. Autumn paused.

"So did any of that really happen?" She finally asked. Leo stood up and looked her in the eyes.

"Actually yes, it did. But I think you need to eat something then get back to bed. You've had a long few days." Autumn blinked at his words.

"You're going to let me stay here?"

"Well, it's not like you've got anywhere else to go. And you seem to be telling the truth, but for right now you aren't allowed to leave the lair."

Autumn nodded and couldn't help but look at the ground. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Don's soft mocha eyes. "In the mean time, I'm going to try to find a way to get you home." Autumn looked away from him.

"I hope so."


	3. Introductions

The next morning the first thing Autumn was aware of was that she was laying on a couch. Her head was laying on a pillow, and wrapped in her arms she was cuddling with another pillow. She didn't bother opening her eyes, she knew where she was and she knew she was safe. For now.

The night before had been the night she'd wanted her whole childhood. So why did she not feel happy? She'd gotten what a lot of kids only dreamed about, yet something felt empty.

They looked just like they had in the 2007 TMNT movie. It was strange seeing them in person, strange to see the muscles, green skin, and their eyes. They all looked the same, but had distinct differences. She could tell them apart easily without their masks, even if their eyes were closed and their skin were the same color.

The shortest of them all was surprisingly Donatello. His brothers mocked him saying it's cause he drinks so much coffee. His skin is a perfect olive green shade. His muscles were the smallest of all the brothers, but he was differently well built. There was no doubt about that. He had the least amount of scars, but his mocha colored eyes glew with intelligence.

The next shortest was Michelangelo. His skin was just a shade lighter than Donatello's, you had to really be paying attention to tell the difference. His muscles were a almost the size of Leonardo's, almost. His eyes were the brightest shade of baby blue Autumn had seen. They were the same shade of blue she'd picture in books when the author refered to eyes as "ice blue." He was like a child in a teenagers body, always jumping from one place to another with so much energy and excitement.

The second tallest was Leonardo. His skin was a vibrant green, like the color of fresh grass in the spring. His muscles were bigger than Mikey or Don's, which didn't surprise Autumn because she knew he trained harder and more than any of his brothers. His dark sapphire blue eyes gave away all the pain he's felt in his life, physically and emotionally. He was always under pressure of being leader, and she just wished she knew how to help him realize he could worry about himself sometimes.

Last but not least is Raphael. He was the tallest, biggest, and darkest of all his brothers. His skin was a darker green, with a slight tint of grey to it. He had many scars, it was hard to tell who had more between him and Leo. The oddest thing about him that Autumn noticed was just how green his eyes were. They were a striking green color, a perfect shade of jade. They reminded her of the oak tree she had outside her window at home.

Today was the day she got to meet Master Splinter. She hadn't gotten to last night because by the time they'd gotten back to the lair he was already sleeping.

"Dudette, wake up! I made breakfast!"

"i'm not hungry," Autumn groaned as she took the pillow she had wrapped in her arms and placed it over her head as she turned over. She wasn't sure what time it was, but all she knew was that it had to be before noon if she was still this tired.

"How can you not be hungry?!" He argued, voice rising an octive. Autumn sighed. "I don't eat when I first wake up, I'll get sick and throw up if I do." She never once opened her eyes. She was completely content to lay there and sleep for another five hours.

"But I made pancakes!" Autumn finally gave up and turned over to face him, eyes still half closed. "If I get up and eat, just for you, can I go back to sleep after that?" She asked. A huge grin spread across his face and his blue eyes lit up.

"Sure, I don't see why you wouldn't. We have to train after we eat anyways, so you can just sleep the whole time. Then after that you can meet Splinter!" Autumn nodded and slowly sat up on the couch. "Alright, but I'm gonna take a shower after I eat. I haven't taken one in a few days. Karai treated me like a prisoner." She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Mikey wrinkled his nose and giggled. "Gross." With that he turned and headed back to the kitchen. Autumn sat on the couch for about another five minutes before finally dragging herself in the direction Mikey had come from.

She had to pause for a moment and take in the scene in front of her. On the back side of the table was Mikey stuffing a syrup covered pancake in his mouth. He had at least five more on his plate, and just thinking about how many he'd already eaten made her stomach hurt.

Sitting on the right side of the table was Don, talking to Leo who was sitting across from him about something. From the way he was grinning and the way Leo grinned back and nodded Autumn knew Don must have some idea for a new invention.

Sitting right in front of Autumn was Raphael. He had his back to her and his plate looked like he hadn't even touched his food. She realized he probably had no idea she was there and decided to take advantage of this that.

"Morning boys." She said with a half-smile on her face. Raphael almost jumped out of his chair. She couldn't help but start laughing at the surprised and shocked look he gave her. His eyes instantly narrowed his eyes and scowled. "Don't you know better than to sneak up on a ninja?" He hissed.

Autumn just smirked at him. "In my defense, love, I didn't sneak up on anybody. I simply walked up to the table and you just didn't hear me coming." She walked past him and took the seat between him and Leonardo. All eyes landed on her and she suddenly became self-conscious.

She seemed to just realize how bad she must look right now. Her hair was probably oily as it had ever been, along with her face. She hadn't brushed her teeth or hair in four days, and she was still in the same clothes she'd been wearing for four days. She cleared her throat nervously.

"I.. think I'm gonna go shower," she mumbled as she got ready to get back up. A hand on her left arm made her freeze. She turned to see Leo smiling at her and shaking his head. "You should stay for breakfast, you can shower afterwards. Trust me, we're mutant turtles. We're the last to judge someone on how they look first thing in the morning." She gave her another reassuring smile, and she couldn't help but smile back.

Nodding, she sat and listened to the turtles talk about the most random things you could imagine. She felt a strange feeling go up her spine, and everything seemed to hit her at once. She was in the Ninja Turtles lair, eating breakfast with them. She could hardly believe it. If it hadn't already been four days, she'd think she was still dreaming. It was so surreal.

"So, tell me about yourselves," she asked. Everyone went quiet and again all eyes were on her. Donatello chuckled. "Well, what is there to tell that you don't already know?" Autumn was about to reply when Mikey interrupted her. "I have an idea, why don't you tell us what you know about us!"

Leo and Don nodded at that and Raph just grunted. Autumn blinked slowly. "Well, it's been a while since I watched any of the shows, that movie was the first thing in a year. I'll give it a shot though.."

"I know you were mutated from green ooze in a container labeled "TCRI." I know TCRI was really an alien organization called the Kraang. I know about the whole Shredder and Splinter hating each other cause Splinter got the girl they both wanted. I know what Shredder did to him, and.. I'm sorry. But about you guys in general? That's easy.

"Leo is the oldest, and the leader. He likes to plan ahead and think things through before acting out. He focuses his time on perfecting his ninjitsu and watching over you guys. Raph's two favorite pet names for him are "Fearless" and "Splinter Junior." I know he holds more weight on his shoulders than he can carry sometimes, but his brothers are always there to help him." She smiled at Leo, and he smiled back. She didn't want to go into detail about how much she knew about them, because she knew that would make them uncomfortable.

She turned to Mikey and grinned. "The famous Michelangelo. You know you were my favorite turtle when I was younger?" She asked. His eyes lit up and he smiled. "Really?!" She nodded. "Yeah, because I was just like you as a kid. I loved pizza and I had ADHD, so I was all over the place at once. My parents would lock me in my room for it. I was obsessed with Marvel comics and I'm a total gamer girl, I could kick your butt in any game." She winked to let him know that last sentence had been an offical challenge.

She looked at Donatello. "And here we have Mr. Brains himself. Always the thinker, the inventor, and the computer wiz. I wouldn't say you're a geek because you don't fit my definition of geek or nerd, but you are for sure smarter than the average turtle, or human." He smiled at her words, brown eyes sparkling. "Well thank you, Autumn." He beamed. Autumn took a breath and turned to the last turtle.

"And last we have Raphael." She crossed her arms and he glared at her. "The macho hot-head who looses his temper easily." His eyes widened a little and he pointed his finger at her. "Hold on, now wait a minute.." Autumn threw her hand up and shook her head.

"I'm not done. You lose your temper too easily, but you love your brothers more than anything and you'd give your life for them in a heart beat, even though you don't tend to show it. You cover every and any emotion you feel with anger because that's all you've ever known. You don't really know how to just talk about things because it makes you uncomfortable, but your heart is as big as your temper."

He stared at her for a moment before finally shaking his head in confusion. "You know all that from TV shows?" He asked. Autumn smiled. "No, the only thing the shows or movies really tell is your anger. I figured the rest out on my own. Okay, now tell me stuff about yourselves. Things that I don't know, personal stuff."

Donatello raised an eyebrow and looked between his brothers. "Uh.. Like?" He asked. Autumn shrugged. "I dunno, you don't have to spill stuff too personal. I mean stuff you can't just tell easily. Like what kind of music you listen to. Stuff like that." She looked at them with hopeful eyes.

Mikey was the first to answer. "I listen to pop, light rock, and I love alternative! No country, that stuff puts me to sleep." He rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue to infasize his point. Autumn giggled and nodded, turning to Donatello. "Tell me, what does the genius inventor listen to while he's in his room and lab tinkering with his toys?" There was a flirtatious tone in her voice and he blushed slightly before answering.

"Well, I just listen to whatever comes on the radio.." He trailed off. Autumn knew what he was doing. Whatever kind of music he listened to, he was embarrassed by it. Autumn shook her head. "Radio stations are sorted by genre, so tell me what genre is the station you listen to?" She grinned at him, trying to give him a little confidence. He was so shy, and she couldn't help but admire how adorable it made him.

He looked at her for a long second before looking down and stared at his lap and sighed.

"Country." He mumbled.

Autumn's grin grew. "There's nothing wrong with that! Leo, how about you?" She asked. He turned to her and blinked in surprise. "I, uh.. I listen to rock." It was Autumn's turn to look shocked. "Really? Hmm. You never really stuck me as a rock n roll kinda boy." She gave him a wink and a grin, making him the second turtle to blush that morning.

She turned to the last brother. "Raphael?" She asked. He looked at her and grunted. "I don't listen to music." She gasped. "What? How can you not listen to music!" He shrugged. "Dunno, I guess I never found any kind that interested me." She just sighed, shaking her head in pity. He was really missing out. She opened her mouth to say something, but got interrupted by the youngest brother.

"Wait wait wait, guys. We're total jerks." He had a grave look on his face. Don and Leo frowned in confusion at his sudden outburst, silently asking for an explanation. His eyes grew wider in an almost horrified look. "We haven't even asked her name yet!" He shrieked.

Everyone turned to look at her and she sighed. "My name is Autumn, don't make fun of me!" She ordered, before setting her chin in her hands as she set her elbows on the table as she whispered, "I hate it." Leo shook his head. "No, it's a beautiful name actually. It suits you." Autumn looked up into his dark blue eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, Leo." He returned her smiled, and set his right cheek against his fist as his own elbow rested on the table as well. "But now it's your turn to tell us about you."

Their eyes, except for Raphael who'd shown no interest up to this point, began to glitter with excitement. She assumed they were excited to learn about the life of a teenage girl from another dimension. Although her life wasn't something she wanted to talk about.

"Not much to tell." She mumbled as she stood up from the table and began to walk to the living room, refusing to even look at any of them.

She grabbed the clothes from her bag she planned on wearing, her iPod, nail polish, makeup, and everything she'd need to clean herself. She walked up the stairs and to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her and stripped herself of her clothes and turned the water on.

She waited a moment before getting in the shower. She plugged in her headphones and turned on her iPod. She silently thanked her grandparents for ordering both headphones and iPod water proof. She smiled when the first song came on as she began to wash her hair. The song was "I'm Not A Vampire" by Falling In Reverse. She didn't even notice she'd began singing, and by the time she did she didn't care.

_"Well I'm not a vampire, but I feel like one_  
_Sometimes I sleep all day because I hate the sun_  
_My hands are always shaking, body's always aching_  
_And the dark is when I feed_  
_Well I can lure any woman that I want to in my bed with me_  
_And whiskey seems to be my holy water_  
_Mothers better lock your doors and hide your daughters_  
_I'm insane, well I can feel it in my bones_  
_Coursing through my veins, when did I become so cold?_  
_For goodness sakes, where is my self-control?_  
_If home is where my heart is, then my heart has lost all hope.."_

She spent almost an hour in the shower. She shaved, shampooed and conditioned her hair twice, washed her face and body, and brushed her teeth. Once out of the shower she towel dried her hair then wrapped it up in the towel. She put on the dark red tank top that hugged her curves perfectly and slid on her faded blue jean cut off shorts, wrapping her black belt around their loops and fastening it into the silver jeweled belt buckle. She pulled out her blood red nail polish she'd brought with her and began to paint her toe and finger nails.

She looked at herself in the mirror and began to give herself a black and white smokey eye look with her eyeshadow, then rimmed her eyes with black eyeliner. She added mascara, which by the end made her eyelashes almost touch her eyebrows. The look made her green almond shaped eyes pop. To finish the look she added a thin layer of red lipstick to give her lips a little color.

She popped her lips and smiled then squeezed the towel around her hair in an attempt to get the last bit of water out of it that she could and then hung the towel over the shower rod. She picked up her dirty clothes and walked down stairs and put all her things away. She was flapping her hands around to dry the nail polish when a voice caught her attention.

"Ms. Jenson."

Autumn turned around to see a four foot rat standing in a door way with a long stick being used as a cane. She couldn't help the wide smile that spread across her face. "Master Splinter!" She greeted. excitement bubbled through her as she practically bounced over to him.

He smiled up at her and chuckled. "Hello child, I've heard a lot about you from my sons this morning." Autumn giggled like an idiot. "Well, I don't see what there was to say. Your sons only met me last night."  
"Yes, that is true. Would you like to join me in watching my sons train?" He offered. She felt her cheeks get hot with a blush. "It'd be an honor, sir." He smiled at her once again and led her through the slide doors any into a large room. She knew instantly this was their training dojo and smiled.

"It looks a lot bigger in person." She mused. She almost instantly realized her flaw, wondering if the boys had told him her story. She shot him a quick glance as he began to sit on a red pillow. "Do not worry, Ms. Jenson. My sons have informed me of everything."

She'd almost forgotten that he had a nack for practically reading minds. She nodded in understanding. He looked up at her and patted the spot next to him with a small furry paw. "Please, come sit with me." She grinned and willingly followed his command. She turned to see how the boys looked training in person.

If she didn't know better, she would have thought they were hurting themselves. This was a weapon training session and it looked as deadly as any fight she'd seen them in on TV.

Just as she started watching them, she'd caught Mikey's attention. He was sparing with Don, but froze as if his brother wasn't even there. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped, tongue rolling out of his mouth. Don saw his look and turned around with a confused one of his own, which instantly changed the moment his eyes laid on her.

They grew slightly, not as wide as Mikey's though. He blinked a few times, lowering his Bo slightly. Leo saw them both stop sparing and frowned. "Guys, what are you doing? We're supposed to be training! You need to..." He stopped in mid-sentence as he looked at her. His expression was blank, but Autumn knew that if he wasn't so able of controlling himself he'd look just like his brothers did. She rolled her eyes.

"A shower can do a lot for a girl." She teased them. Just then it was Raphael's turn to turn around, and he looked anything but impressed. He scowled and turned back to his brothers.

"Are you serious? All three of you stop in the middle of sparing to get goo-goo eyes over her?" That snapped the brothers out of their trance, and they all were back to training in seconds. Splinter cleared his throat next to her.

"I understand that you have been taken from your dimension to work for Karai and The Foot, correct?" His tone wasn't threatening or accusing, but Autumn knew this was his test to see if she could be trusted. She turned to face him, making full and complete contact.

"Yes sir, that's true." He nodded. "Do you plan on working for her?" Autumn shook her head almost instantly.

"No sir, I don't. The only reason I even came with her is because she threatened the lives of my family. By the time I got here, I lied and told her I'd help her just so I could get away from her. I tried to get away from your sons for their own safety, but they're just too hard-headed."

He chuckled at her works and a small smile spread across his lips. "Yes, indeed they are. I'm assuming Karai offered you a reward for your success, would you mind telling me what that reward would be?" His question was out of pure curiosity, and Autumn gave him his answer.

"To return home. She told me that I wouldn't have to.. hurt them.. with my own hands, that she'd have someone else do it. She said that if I just did my job, that she'd return me home safely and.. erase my memory, so I wouldn't hold the guilt.. But I can't, I just can't.. Even if I forget it after, I'll still have done it. I could never do anything to harm or put them in danger, or you.." She was whispering now, eyes shinning from their sudden wetness. His brow creased.

"What is your job?" She shrugged. "I don't know, she was very secretive about everything. She won't tell me why it's me she needs. I know she didn't just pick me at random because people don't just dimension hop for the heck of it when she could grab a random girl off the street. When I asked her what my job was, she just told me I'd find out soon enough and that I just needed to get them to trust me.."

She faced him once again and slowly shook her head in worry. "I will understand if you don't trust me. You can send me out if you wish it, I'll just return to The Foot Tower and explain that I couldn't do it, maybe she'll send me home.."

It was his turn to shake his head. "No, Karai's punishment for failure would most likely cost you your life. Either than or she would have you imprisoned. Although I do have reasons to doubt you, I am almost sure you are telling the truth." He placed a paw on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Your words speak from her heart. I can sense you mean us no harm. If you planned on following Karai I do not see why you would tell us all of this. I'm assuming you have no where to stay?"

She shook her head and looked at the ground, sighing. "No, I don't. I don't even know where anything is. I never even went to the New York in my dimension." There was a pause before he spoke again.

"Than you shall stay here with us until we find you a way home to your own dimension."

Autumn's head shot up and her green eyes began to sparkle. Her smile went from ear to ear as she flew forward around the rat's neck and buried her face into the fur of his shoulder.

"Oh my God, thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." Her voice was cracking with emotion. He lightly hugged her back before she pulled away. He smiled. "Of coarse, child. Our home is your home. There is one of many extra rooms we have been using for storage, you may use that for now."

Autumn could have cried right there on the spot, but she didn't. She just nodded. "Thank you so much.." He chuckled. "Do not thank me, child. Helping others in need is what we do, Ms. Jenson."

"Master Splinter?"

"Yes?"

"Please just call me Autumn."

He smiled.

"Very well. Please just call me Splinter."

"Can do."

In that moment Don, Leo, and Mikey began to walk towards them. "Autumn, there's someone we want you to meet today." Don said as he smiled. Autumn smiled back. "Let me guess, April?" Mikey let out a loud groan and turned to storm out of the dojo as he threw his hands in the air in defeat.

"There's just no surprising this girl!"

Everyone couldn't help but laugh at his antics. She turned to the other two brothers. "When's she coming?" She asked. Don looked at Leo then back to Autumn.

"She should be here any minute. Leo called her before we came in to train. Don't worry about having to explain everything, he pretty much gave her the jest of it. She's really anxious to meet you." Autumn blinked up at him and pointed to herself. "Mwa?" They smiled and nodded at her. Leo opened his mouth to say something, but a shout coming from Mikey in the living room stopped him.

"Hey guys, April's here!"

Autumn froze. She became extremely nervous, like a girl waiting to get picked up on her first date. Don and Splinter headed out of the dojo and Autumn sat frozen in place on the mat, eyes wide and Leo giving her a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She looked up at him as if snapping out of a trance. "No." She whispered. He frowned. "What's wrong?" Autumn slowly shook her head as she stared at the open door.

"I'm just really nervous. I mean, this is _April_ we're talking about. _The_ April O'Niel. The first human and only girl you guys became friends with, what if she doesn't like me?" She looked up at him with wide worried green eyes. Leo just gave her a small smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She'll like you. We all like you, even Master Splinter likes you and he just met you. That says a lot. Besides, Donnie said she can't wait to meet you, remember?" She shrugged. "What if I disappoint her?" He chuckled softly at her words.

"What if she really likes you and you two become good friends? But you'll never know if you don't get out there to meet her, will you?" His voice was cool and comforting and Autumn couldn't help but looking up at him and smiling. He smiled back and reached a hand out to help her up.

She took his hand and he helped her stand. She looked at him one last time before they walked to the door together. She took a deep breath, then rounded the corner to the living room.

Raphael was no where in sight, but everyone was standing around a small girl with short fiery red hair wearing a black work suit. Autumn swallowed hard. _Awh, to hell with it._ She stepped forward until she was right outside the circle. Don looked over and saw her, then stepped to the side. Mikey followed his lead.

Dark green eyes met pale green. April didn't say anything at first. She just stood there with a blank expression and stared at her. This immediately worried Autumn, who was desperately wanting to know what was going through her mind. All the tension that had built up in her body melted away as a smile spread over the red head's face.

"You must be Autumn! You're even prettier than Leo described!" Autumn blinked and shot a look to Leo who was looking at the couch like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen, trying to avoid her graze. Autumn just grinned and turned back to April.

"I'm flattered, really. You're not so bad yourself." April laughed and Autumn stuck out her hand for her to shake, but she just shook her head and crossed her arms. "Shaking hands is for men and business. Speaking of which, I brought you boys a present!"

All their eyes instantly fell to the large bag in her arms as she slid her right hand inside and pulled out two white boxes with an unreadable red design on them. Mikey shot forward, taking the boxes in a rush and began to head to the kitchen, followed by his two brothers.

"Pizza! Oh April, you're the best!" He called as he rounded the corner and was soon out of eyesight. April just smiled and shook her head as she put her hands on her hips. Master Splinter chuckled. "Thank you April, the food is much appreciated." He then turned and joined his sons for dinner.

April turned to face Autumn and gave her a grin, showing perfectly whitened teeth. "Well now we finally got the guys out of here. I have to say it's a relief to not be the only girl in their life now." She plopped down on the couch. "So tell me, what do you think of the guys?" She rested her chin on her right hand as her elbow pressed into her knee.

Autumn chuckled. "They're amazing, they really are. Donnie is just so smart, although I'm almost positive I haven't even seen half of his potential. Mikey is a goof, but he's hilarious so that makes up for it. Raph is a bit of a brute, but isn't too bad if you get past the whole tough-boy extierer. Leo? He's got that whole brave man who'll risk his life for anyone without second thoughts. He just gives off that vibe, ya know?"

April nodded, her smile had grown bigger when Autumn had been talking. "Yes, I do know. They can be difficult to deal with, yes. But they're are amazing and have huge hearts." Autumn nodded. "Their hearts are as big as they're shells, even Raph's." April grinned at her joke. "Especially Raph's."

It was a moment before April spoke again. "So what's the deal with Karai?" She asked. Autumn scoffed and shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't care either. That bitch can just kiss my sweet southern ass." She said it calmly and smiled so sweetly April couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you think there's any way for you to get home?" April asked, now serious. "I honestly don't know.." April frowned and her eyes filled with pity. "Well, if anyone can figure out a way, it's Donnie." Autumn looked in the direction of the kitchen and sighed.

"I sure hope so."

A/N: Not everything is as it seems! Mwahahaha! I can be very evil in my stories, fair warning. Feel free to comment your opinions on the story, actually, please review opinions and ideas! It let's me know what you guys like about the story and give me some ideas I might use and also if I use your idea, I promise to give you credit in my story!  
ALSO. Thank you to notebook129 for giving me my first review on this story! I hope you're still reading it c:


	4. Boomerang

_**A/N: I'd like to apologize ahead of time for this chapter. I know there's a lot of song lyrics in it, but music is a big part of my life and I want to include it at time in my story, but the songs I use will always have to do with what's going on. After this chapter there won't be near as much music, maybe two more songs in the whole story. Also that this chapter has almost no drama. Yes, everything is perfect right now. But isn't when everything seems perfect that is all goes down the drain? c; The next chapter will tell!**_

**Not everything is as it seems, I'll say it yet again. There's going to be a couple plot twists later on, and I would love for my readers to try to guess what it is! If you guess correctly, I'll give you a shout out at the end of the chapter that reveals it. **

**Thank you for all your reveiws! They mean so much to me and they're what keep me motivated to keep writing. Anyway, on with the story!**

Flashback:

_Autumn stood in the kitchen with her arms crossed as her aunt stood in front of her yelling about something that had to do with the fact she hadn't cleaned the bathroom. Autumn sighed, holding in her anger._

_"First off, that mess in the bathroom? Yeah all that makeup and hair stuff is Ashton's, I do mine in my room. Remember? Second, I cleaned every other thing around this damn house and don't even get a thank you. I get how I should do it better, and even if I get everything done where there's nothing for you to bitch over you tell me I should have done it faster!"_

_Her aunt's hand collided with her right cheek. The sharp stinging shockwave of pain rushing through her head faded in seconds as red blurred her vision. She looked up at her aunt from her now twisted position and narrowed her eyes. She hadn't layed a hand on an adult in a long time, but she was really having to fight herself to keep that record up._

_"Fuck you." She growled as she pushed past her aunt. There was a hiss of anger and she realized she was being followed. "What the hell did you say to me, you little brat?" Autumn reeled her lips back into a snarl as she whipped around, flinging her arm out and letting the glass lamp fly across the living room. It smashed against the fire-place, sending shards of glass falling to the floor._

_"I said, fuck you!" She turned back and headed to the back room of their house as she heard her aunt yell, "Ralph, you better deal with that kid! She's out of control!" Autumn slammed the door behind her, yelling through the wall, "Yeah, because of you bitch!"_

_She turned on the stereo system hooked up to the wall and flipped through the stations and turned the volume all the way up. If it weren't for the fact she was having one of her temper fits, they would tell her to turn it down. Her aunt wouldn't admit it, but she was terrified of Autumn when she got like this. She knew once she hit this point, her blood lust in the fight was at an all time high._

_She stopped at a current rock station and changed into a tank top and shorts as the familiar songs lyrics began to flood around her._

**_"The secret side of me I never let you see_**  
**_I keep it caged, but I can't control it_**  
**_So stay away from me, the beast is ugly_**  
**_I feel the rage, and I just can't hold it"_**

_She stood up and faced the punching bag hanging from the wall as she took a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment before reopening them and taking a swing at the bag. Her fist collided with the hard leather and she couldn't help but grin at the thought of this being a real person._

**_"It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls_**  
**_It comes awake, and I can't control it_**  
**_Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head_**  
**_Why won't somebody come and save me from this?_**  
**_Make it end.."_**

_She swung her fists, her legs flying out into hysterical kicks as she abused the bag. The anger rippled through her muscles with each hit and kick. She didn't feel like herself anymore, and she began to hiss her thoughts out loud to herself._

_"This is for my father piece of shit father." A hit. "This is for my sorry excuse of a mother." A round-house kick. "This is for making me do so much shit around this house." Two punches. "This is for letting my sister get away with everything." A kick and punch. "And this is for Jessie!" She punched the bag over and over and over, not stopping to take a breath._

**_"I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin_**  
**_I must confess that I feel like a monster, I hate what I've become_**  
**_The nightmare's just begun, I must confess that I feel like a monster_**  
**_I feel like a monster, I feel like a monster"_**

_She couldn't even see the bag in front of her anymore. Everything was red._

**_"My secret side I keep hid under lock and key_**  
**_I keep it caged, but I can't control it_**  
**_Cause if I let him out, he'll tear me up and break me down_**  
**_Why won't somebody come and save me from this?_**  
**_Make it end!"_**

_She was so lost in her anger that she didn't even hear the door open, or feel someone tapping her shoulder. "Autumn!" She snapped away from the bag and let out a furious kick, sending the intruder flying back against the wall. Autumn stood over them, heaving in and out with heavy breaths. She clenched her fists as she waited for them to get back up and fight._

_"W.. Why?" A soft broken voice asked._

_That was all it took._

_Her vision cleared and she blinked. Staring at the scene laying in front of her, her heart shattered. On the floor lay her older sitting, holding her stomach in pain. In second a small trail of blood began to stream down her leg and she looked up at her with wet brown eyes._

_"Why?" She cried._

_Autumn's eyes grew wide as she backed herself up against the punching bag. Just then her aunt and uncle came running down the hall as a cry escaped her aunt's throat._

_"What have you done!" She threw herself on the ground next to Ashton. She stayed like that for a minute before looking up at her husband. "Ralph, get in the car. We have to take her to the hospital. Blood is never a good sign for the baby!"_

**_"It's hiding in the dark, it's teeth are razor sharp_**  
**_There's no escape for me_**  
**_It wants my soul, it wants my heart_**  
**_No one can hear me scream_**  
**_Maybe it's just a dream, or maybe it's inside of me_**  
**_Stop this monster!"_**

_Her aunts cold grey eyes shot up to her, a look of disgust covering her every feature._

_"You're a monster."_

**_"I.. I feel like a monster!_**  
**_I.. I feel like a monster!"_**

That had been almost a year ago. It had been the last time she had lost control of herself like that. She'd had anger issues since she was eleven. She'd lash out at anything in her path, including her mother and father. Her uncle was an abusive drunk, and when they got into fights it was like World War lll. They could stand in the kitchen screaming and cussing at each other for hours, neither bothering to let their pride down.

She sat in silence as the same song from that memory played on the TV in front of her, the music video closely being watched by all the brothers. Once it was over, Mikey was the first to speak.

"Dudes, I totally love that song!" He said out loud. Autumn ignored them as they exchanged what they liked most about it, when something broke her trance.

"Hey Autumn, you okay?"

Her green eyes shot to Leo's concerned blue ones. She didn't even realize she was now sitting with her arms crossed and that her eyes had been on the floor. She just shrugged. "I'm fine." His brow creased. "You sure? You don't look fine."

Autumn's green eyes instantly flared up as she glared. "I said I'm fine, didn't I? Don't pester me!" She spat as she stood up and stormed off to the kitchen, ignoring all the strange stares she got from them. She opened the fridge and looked inside, eyes landing on a small container of strawberry yogurt. She grinned. "Come to mama," she whispered as she reached inside and pulled it out.

She walked over to a drawer and grabbed a spoon as she opened her yogurt. She jumped onto the counter and let her legs dangle in front of the drawers below her as she took a bite.

When most people got upset or mad, they would feel sick and not want food. Not Autumn. Anytime she felt her anger coming on she felt the need to stuff her face, it seemed to help calm her. She knew stress eating was a bad habit, but she couldn't help herself.

She layed her head against the cabinet behind her which was attached to the wall and sighed. Why was she always so angry? She figured it had something to do with her mother and father, but sometimes it seemed like more than that. Like there was something deep inside her eating her away from the inside out that she just couldn't see. She shrugged to herself and continued to eat her yogurt.

She had the spoon upside down in her mouth taking her third bite when she a voice made her almost fall off the counter.

"I wouldn't let Master Splinter catch you sitting up there, if I were you."

Autumn took a second to catch her breath then stared at the turtle in front of her. "God Leo, give a girl a warning next time!" She moaned. He was leaning on his right side against the kitchen walk way, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Sorry, it's a ninja thing." Autumn returned his smirk before she took another bite. "Really? I never would have guessed." There was a long pause between them before he finally said what was on his mind.

"What happened out there?" He asked, face now serious. Autumn raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what your talking about," She said in a mocking tone. He scoffed. "Yes, you do. One minute your happy and all smiles, the next you're staring off into space with a look that made it seemed like someone stabbed you. Then you lashed out at me when I asked you what was wrong."

Autumn paused before shrugging. "Certain songs remind some of us of things we'd rather forget." She mumbled, taking another mouth full of yogurt. After a second Leo understood what she was trying to say, then stepped across the kitchen until he was standing in front of her only a foot away.

"I only asked because I care." He whispered.

His sapphire eyes were swimming with an unsaid emotion and Autumn felt her heart jump in her throat. She wasn't an expert on boys, but she knew what a look like that could mean. She looked away from his gaze.

"I know." She whispered back. He must have sensed her uneasiness because he changed the subject.

"Have you heard from Karai?" He asked. Autumn turned back to him and shook her head. "Nope," she popped the p. "I'm still trying to figure out why she would sent me out on some conquest mission of hers with no way to even contact me."

"You don't have a tracker on you, Donnie already scanned you for anything like that." Autumn raised an eyebrow. "You let him scan me while I was asleep? Nice to know how much you trust me." She mumbled. He chuckled. "Actually, he did it that first night you passed out in the sewer."

Autumn did a slow nod of fake understanding. "Ahh, I feel so much better now." He rolled his eyes.

"I still find it weird that you've been here over a weak and she still hasn't even shown concern about you. We haven't seen sign one of The Foot since that night we found you." She scoffed at his words. "Well nice to know you're in such a rush to hand me over." He narrowed his eyes. "You know that isn't true." She half grinned. "Isn't it?" He shook his head.

"I honestly wouldn't mind how long you stayed here, personally. I like it better with you here."

Autumn couldn't help but smirk at his words, flipping her hair behind her head. "I do believe Da Vinchi here just told me he's found an interest in something other than training. Am I right?" She asked, her voice lowering and softening. His eyes widened slightly in surprise and he cleared his throat. "I, uhm.. Well I..." Autumn put her hand up to silence him.

"Well then, that's all the answer I needed." She said as she leaned forward, palms pressed against the edge of the counter and her arms straightening out. His eyes grew wider and his mouth fell open. "Hold on, I didn't-" She pressed a finger to his lips as she jumped off the counter, now standing so close to him their bodies were practically pressed against each other. She looked up at him and gave him a mischievous smile.

"It's okay," she whispered, "I won't tell if you don't tell."

She leaned forward, eyes lowering to his lips. He was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. They were only an inch apart when she grinned and just walked away, leaving him speechless and frozen in place.

Autumn walked back into the livingroom and plopped down on the couch next to Mikey. Don was sitting on the other side of him, and Raph sat in the recliner. She noticed this seemed to be there designated spots, although she couldn't help but feel like it was because of her that Leo sat on the floor.

"Hey guys, we should watch a movie." She said, a hopeful smile on her face. Mikey's face lit up. "Totally, dudette! Can I pick the movie? Pleaseee!" He begged. Raphael grunted and rolled his eyes. "You are not picking the movie. You'll pick some stupid super hero movie that we've all seen at least a thousand times."

Mikey's lower lip popped out in a pathetic pout. Autumn had to stiffen a giggle as she shook her head. "Why doesn't we call just agree on something?" She asked. Donnie chuckled and turned to her. "That's impossible, it's never happened in history." She raised an eyebrow.

"I feel like I've been issued a challenge?" His eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, I was just saying-" "Nope, too late. Challenge accepted." She crossed her arms and grinned as a sign of victory.

"What challenge?" Leo asked from behind her. Autumn turned around and looked at him. "I'm going to find a movie that we all agree on for a movie night." He didn't look at her, but at his brothers as he said, "Well this movie night will have to wait until after our patrol. Pick a movie while we're gone." Autumn nodded. "Alright, how long do you plan on being gone?" He shrugged as he and his brothers headed for the lair door. "It depends. If everything goes well and we don't run into trouble, an hour or two at the most. We'll be back." The door shut behind them as they left.

Autumn let out a puff of air and looked around her for something to do. It was 9pm, and she noticed they hadn't eaten dinner. An idea popped in her head and she began to grow excited at just the thought of it. She rushed to the kitchen and began rummaging through their fridge and cabinets, finding the ingredients for the victory dinner she was going to make. It would be her famous homemade lasagna.

It took her almost forty minutes to prepair. Once it was ready to bake, she set it in the oven for twenty minutes and smiled. The guys, well at least Mikey were going to flip out over her making a real dinner for them. She was beginning to wonder if they ate anything other than noodles, pizza, and cereal. She turned to the cabinet and pulled out four boxes od chocolate pudding mix.

She poured the contents and all the called for ingredients into a large blue bowl and began to stir it with a large wooden spoon. It said it would take five minutes to stir it completely, so she stood in the middle of the kitchen with the bowl in one arm and stirring it with the spoon she had in her other hand. She slowly began to tap her foot to a beat playing in her head, and didn't even realize that words were coming out of her mouth.

_"You know that I'm a crazy bitch_  
_I do what I want when I feel like it_  
_All I wanna do is lose control, oh oh_  
_But you don't really give a shit_  
_You go with it, go with it, go with it_  
_Cause you're just that crazy rock'n'roll"_

She began to twirl her hips slightly, getting more into the song than she had planned on.

_"You said "Hey, what's your name?"_  
_It took one look and now we're not the same_  
_Yeah you said "Hey," and since that day_  
_You stole my heart, and you're the one to blame"_

She couldn't help but take the spoon out of the bowl and put it close to her mouth and use it as a fake microphone as she hit the chorus.

_"And that's why I smile, it's been a while_  
_Since every day and everything has felt this right_  
_And now you turn it all around, and suddenly you're all I need_  
_The reason why I smile!"_

She stopped singing and put the spoon back in the bowl and began to stir it once more, a smile spreading across her face. It felt good to sing, she loved it. The only thing is no had ever heard her sing, she only sung when alone. She sighed. She wished she could work up the courage to sing for people, but she was afraid they wouldn't think she was good.

She almost decided to audition for her school's musical talent show, but when she saw all the people who were already signed up she decided she just didn't have a chance.

"Dude, you got some mad skills with that voice."

Out of instinct of being surprised, she flew around and stuck the spoon out. She felt it collide with something and opened to see what it was. They grew wide as saucers when she realized the spoon was against Leo's scowling face. She pulled the spoon back and dropped her jaw.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean to.. Leo, I'm sorry!"

Mikey walked up next to him and looked at the large blob of pudding on his brother's face, then stuck a finger in it then brought it to his mouth. His eyes lit up and he turned to Autumn with a grin. "That pudding is so awesome!"

She turned back to Leo, who was still staring at her with an unreadable expression. After a second or so more of this, he reached his hand up and whipped the rest of the pudding off with a big green finger. Without taking his eyes off her, he stuck his finger in his mouth, then pulled it out. He finally said something.

"It is pretty good."

Autumn felt her stomach drop. "You're.. You're not mad?" She whispered. He grinned, letting out a soft chuckle as he crossed his arms. "Do you really think that hurt me? Of everything I've had hit me in the face, that wooden spoon is nothing." She let out a sigh of relief. Raph walked up next.

"What's that smell?" He asked. She snapped out of her daze and pointed at the oven. "Dinner." Mikey instantly rushed over and wrapped his arms around her waist and fell to his knees in the process. He squeezed her hard and looked up at Leo with large blue eyes and his bottom lip poking out, an obviously well practiced puppy dog face.

"Can we keep her, Leo? Pleaseeee? Pretty please?" His eyes looked wet, like he was ready to start crying if he was told no. For a moment Leo didn't respond, but he then shrugged and looked up at Autumn. "I don't know, that's up with her and Master Splinter."

Mikey looked up at Autumn, giving her the same puppy dog face. "Will you stay? Please? Will you make this pizza-loving turtle happy and stay with us?" Autumn's face softened and she let out a weak smile, feeling her eyes begin to water themself.

"Mikey.. you know I can't. I have to find a way to get home." He pouted, sitting back on the floor and crossing his arms. "Why?" He groaned. Autumn chuckled. "Mikey, could you abandoned your brothers so easily?" She asked. He finally let his arms fall, looking at the ground like a beaten puppy. "No." He mumbled, getting up and sulking to the living room.

Donnie and Leo were both shaking their heads at him, but Raph seemed to just ignore it. Leo turned back to look at Autumn and she sighed. "He's just too damn good at that beaten puppy look." She whispered. Leo blinked at her, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Do you have any siblings? You mentioned to Mikey about abandoning us, do you have siblings at home?"

Autumn broke away from his gaze, staring at the floor. "I.. have a sister." She whispered. She turned around before he could reply and finished mixing the pudding, then setting it in the fridge for after dinner. She turned to Donnie. "You're in charge of making sure Mikey doesn't eat the pudding before dinner." She smiled and he smiled back as she headed to the living room.

Mikey, Raph, and Leo were all sitting on the couch. She cleared her throat, easily gaining all their attention. "I'm going to go take a shower. Dinner should be done in about forty minutes and that's probably about the same time I'll be getting out. Oh, and Mikey?" She turned to look at him. "I know what you're thinking. I've already got Donnie on fridge guard duty." She saw his face fall slighty and had to bite back a laugh. She just smiled and shook her head as she headed up stairs.

She grabbed her bag from her new room and took it to the bathroom with her, that being easier than trying to carry all the things she'd be needing. She dug through her bag, pulling out all the things she'd be needing to clean herself. Once all that was out she began to look for what to wear. She dug through her freshly washed clothes, thanks to April. Her eyes grew wide when she reached the bottom of the bag.

She'd forgotten this was the bag she'd used last year when she went to see her grandparents. In the bottom of her bag neatly folded lay her black Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle boxers, which were black with them on the front, and in the back over the butt it said "TMNT" she used to use to sleep in, and a green tank top with a picture of all four of them on it saying, "I only dates ninjas: just sayin'." Her face grew red at the thought of wearing these in front of the boys, but sadly she knew she had to do it. It was just too good of an opertunity to pass up.

After her she got out of the shower, she took off the now chipping dark red nail polish, and painted them a new shade of a fine dark pine green. She did her makeup, making it a green and black smokey eye with mascara. She slid on the clothes and spun around to look at herself, smiling. For once in her life she felt confident with herself. The boxers hugged her curves nicely, making her butt look a little bigger than normal. The tank top was skin tight, showing only a small amount of cleavage.

She put everything back in her bag then opened the door, almost dropping her bag as she let out a surprised gasp. Leo stood in the doorway, eyes growing wide from surprise himself. Autumn let out a sigh and laughed nervously. "Jesus Leo, one day you're going to give me one heart attack too many." He blinked. "I uh.. You've been up here for over thirty minutes, I just came to see if you needed anything." She rolled her eyes and put a her right hand on her hip, popping her hip out to the right.

"I told you guys I'd probably be up here a while. Girls have a lot more to do in showers than guys. I'd go into detail, but that would be just a little bit to personal." She walked past him and down the hall, throwing her bag into her room and closing the door behind her. She headed downstairs and too the kitchen, ignoring the stares she got from the guys. She looked on the timer on the stove and saw there was fifty-six seconds left. She smiled. "Right on time."

She grabbed to hot pads and opened the oven and pulled out the large pan. The cheese had begun to bubble on the top, indicating it had been fully cooked. Setting the pan on top of the stove and turning the oven off, she threw the pads down and turned around. "Leo! Come here!" She shouted. In less than three seconds he was rounding the corner. "Yes?"

She nodded to the pan. "Help me serve dinner." It wasn't a question. Normally she would be afraid to be so demanding in their home, but she'd just made them dinner and the least someone could do was help her serve it. She carried two plates with lasagna on them, while Leo expertly carried four plates at once. She grinned as they began putting the plates down at the table. "You know, you should be a waiter."

He smirked at her as he set the last plate down. "Yeah, I hear they're hiring green mutants these days." Autumn picked a small hand towel from the table and whipped his arm with it. He made a small sound that could have been mistaken for a squeak as he placed a hand over the stinging spot, playfully glaring at her. She shook her head. "Quit putting yourself down. If I owned a restraunt and you came in for a job, I'd definitely hire you."

"I think I'd do better at entertaining people than being a waiter." He was again referring to his looks. She noticed the other three brothers and Master Splinter had already joined them and smirked. "Actually, I'd leave the entertainment to Mikey here." She patted his shoulder as he took a large bite of his food. His eyes grew wide as he spit the food back out. "Hothothothot!" He began to fan his tongue with one of his hands and Autumn laughed.

"By the way, it's still hot." He raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms, scowling. "Really? I never would have guessed." He added sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and took the seat between him and Leo as Mikey continued. "My mouth feels like someone tried to feed me lava! Is it even still there? Cause I'm pretty sure it burnt off!" He stuck his tongue out for everyone to see. It was bright pink and Autumn wrinkled her nose. "You'll live."

He pulled his tongue back in his mouth and huffed. "Not if I can't eat anymore!" Autumn threw her hands in the air. "And then it's the end of the world! Cause heaven forbid that Mikey can't eat anymore." She again rolled her eyes at him and began to eat. Everyone around her, inculding Master Splinter, laughed at her joke.

"You know Autumn, you sing really good." She looked up from her plate to Don. He was looking at her with a smile and she shrugged. "I guess, I don't really sing for anyone." Leo set his fork down and turned to her, brow creasing. "Wait, no one's ever heard you sing?" He asked seriously. Autumn shook her head. "Nope, not until tonight."

"Can you sing for us again?" Mikey asked. She opened her mouth to object, but he continued. "Please! We've never been to a concert and it'd be so cool to have one right in our living room! Please?" He gave her a puppy dog face and she sighed. "One. Song." He threw his hands up in triumph.

Master Splinter cleared his throat, gaining everyone attention. "Ms. Jenson. You have been staying with us for a week, yet we know almost nothing about you." Autumn swallowed and looked around her. Everyone was looking at her, which seemed to be some kind of new ritual at dinner. She paused, taking a deep breath, then telling them.

"Well, I'm from Texas.." She began. Raph chuckled. "That explains the accent." She narrowed her eyes at him and he shrugged. "What? It's not that bad, but it's there." She rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyway, I live with my aunt, uncle, and sister. Besides going to school I just watch movies, play video games, and draw. I don't have any friends, because people annoy me. I'm not a people person." She waited for them to say something, and Leo was the first to speak.

"What about a boyfriend?" He asked. She looked at him. "No boyfriend. I've only had one boyfriend, and I honestly hated it. He was so annoying." He raised an eyebrow. "Really? How so?" She took a sip of her glass of water and shrugged. "Most girls complain about how their boyfriends don't care enough, well mine was just too emotional. He was always crying about something, he took everything I said personally, and besides that he ended up cheating on me. It was just a big dramatic mess that I never want to go through again."

He paused. "So.. you don't believe in relationships?" She chuckled. "No, I just find them annoying. I don't like having to consult with someone before I do something. I also don't like the whole part where the girl is supposed to be dependent on the guy. Like if you go to the movies, he's supposed to pay for everything. Excuse me, but I don't need someone else's money. I can take care of myself, and I don't need anyone to take care of me."

They all nodded at this, and Master Splinter spoke. "You are as they say, a free spirit." She grinned. "Actually, I've always been told I have a gypsy soul. I like moving around, I don't like being grounded to one area. Also the whole boyfriend thing, I guess I just wasn't meant for a relationship. Thank God for that, I'd hate to be one of those girls where all they think about is boys. I mean honestly, get a hobby." Everyone cracked up at her words.

She turned to Don. "Hey Donnie, I have an idea of what song I wanna sing later. Think if I gave you my iPod you could take the song and make it just the music, you know, like a karaoke?" He grinned. "You insult me by asking me if I can do something so incredibly simple." She turned to Leo and raised an eyebrow in question. He laughed. "He can do it." She nodded and they all finished eating.

While waiting on Don to tweak the song, she sat in the living room with everyone else. Mikey suddenly stood up and walked over to her with a grin, placing an arm around her shoulders. He looked down at her and said in the smoothest voice he could manage, "I'm not sure if I've told you this, but you know I'm a ninja?" At first she didn't get what he was saying, but then she remembered the shirt she was wearing. Her face lit up like Rudolph's nose and she pushed him away.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I'm sorry I forgot to wear my "Kiss me if you're a dork" shirt." Everyone cracked up even harder than they had at dinner and he stuck his tongue at her as he crossed his arms and plopped down on the couch.

"Hey, I got it!" He brought out her iPod and hooked it up to the TV. He looked up at her. "Are you ready?" He asked. She smiled. "I've never done this, so not really." He smiled back at her, pressed the play button. He went to sit down by his brothers.

"Okay, I gave it a ten second silence in the beginning, there will be a beep a second before you need to start singing." She nodded, feeling the unfamiliar nervousness creep up her spine as she heard the beep, but opened her mouth and let the sound come out before she could convince herself to do otherwise.

_"If you were Jay-Z, I'd be your Beyonce_  
_We could rock the nation like they do_  
_And if I was Da Vinci, you'd be Mona Lisa_  
_Paint a smile perfectly on you.."_

She winked at Leo at the word "perfectly." He couldn't help but grin at her from the irony of the song lyrics.

_"And if you were James Dean, I would be your Audrey_  
_Breakfast at Tiffany's for two_  
_So throw me away, cause if I were a boomerang_  
_I'd turn around and come back to you, back to you.."_

She was setting on the coffee table, slapping her knee gently and tapping her foot on the floor to the beat, looking at each of them. Mikey's eyes were wide and he was grinning like an idiot. Leo, Don, and Master Splinter were all smiling at her. Raph just stared at her with an unreadable expression.

_"If you want to, we'll take the world by storm_  
_Show you places, you've never been before_  
_LA, New York, what are you waiting for_  
_Drop her, take me, cause I love you more_  
_If you were Jay-Z, I'd be your Beyonce_  
_We could rock the nation like they do_  
_And if I was Da Vinci, you'd be Mona Lisa_  
_Paint a smile perfectly on you_  
_And if you were James Dean, I would be your Audrey_  
_Breakfast at Tiffany's for two_  
_So throw me away, cause if I were a boomerang_  
_I'd turn around and come back to you, back to you.."_

She was smiling now, she just couldn't help it. Any time she sung this song she got really into it. It had been her favorite song for months and it never got old.

_"Let's pop champagne, fake like we're billionaires_  
_Just you and me, ain't much but we don't care_  
_You look so good, I love when people stare_  
_You on my arm, tryin' to keep you there.."_

She sung the chorus once more and didn't even realized she had begun to stand until she was already on her feet.

_"Doesn't matter what you do_  
_I'll be there for you, I'll be there for you, yeah_  
_Doesn't matter what you say, cause I'm here to stay_  
_What I'm tryin' to say, yeah.."_

She signaled for the boys to stand up as she sang the next part. They gave each other strange looks, but did as she said. Although, Raph had decided to stay seated.

_"Doesn't matter what you do_  
_I'll be there for you, I'll be there for you, yeah_  
_Doesn't matter what you say, cause I'm here to stay_  
_What I'm tryin' to say.."_

She stood in front of Don and smiled as she grabbed his hand and lifted it into the air, spinning around underneath his arm.

_"If you were Jay-Z, I'd be your Beyonce_  
_We could rock the nation like they do.."_

She turned to Leo, grabbing the strap that went over his chest and pulled him close to her, their bodies brushing. She got in his face singing as she smirked at his wide, surprised eyes as he blushed.

"And if I was Da Vinci, you'd be Mona Lisa  
Paint a smile perfectly on you.."

She spun away from him, silently patting herself on the back for making him speechless. She pressed her back to the back of his shell and began to play an air guitar.

_"And if you were James Dean, I would be your Audrey_  
_Breakfast at Tiffany's for two.."_

She stepped away from him and turned to the sitting Raphael and smiled, shrugging as she walked over to him. He gave her a glare, daring her to touch him. She smirked, knowing she didn't have to touch him to get her point across. She walked behind the recliner and bent down, singing the last two lines softly in his ear, as sung in the song.

_"So throw me away, cause if I were a boomerang_  
_I'd turn around and come back to you, right back to you.."_

With the song finished, she turned and began to head upstairs, ignoring all of their dropped jaws. "Good night boys!" She called behind her as she climbed the stairs, smiling to herself as her cheeks flushed at remembering just how close she'd gotten to Leo without any warning at all.


	5. Decision

It was three nights later when Autumn finally heard from Karai.

She'd fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie with Leo, Raph, and Mikey. Right now she was peacefully dreaming.

It was when she was eleven. She was sitting on her sister's bedroom floor, and her sister was sitting on her bed. She couldn't remember what they were talking about, all she knew was that her sister was now sitting in front of her crying. Autumn tilted her head to the side.

"What's wrong, Ashton?" She asked innocently.

Ashton shook her head, her brown eyes looking into Autumn's green ones. "Autumn.. I need to tell you something." She whispered. Autumn's eyes widened slightly. If it weren't for the fat her sister was in hysterics, she'd be excited to be informed of a secret. She swallowed. "I feel horrible for keeping this from you, but I just didn't know when, or how to say it.. You're old enough to know now, and you have the right to know. No one else in this family wants to tell you, so I will." She mumbled between sobs.

A single tear ran down her cheek. "Autumn, I'm so sorry.. You're..."

Everything went black. She was fully aware that she was now not her younger self anymore. She stared at her hands and heard a high pitched laugh. It sounded evil, something out of a horror movie. She turned around, narrowing her eyes at the person standing in front of her.

"_Karai!_" She spat.

Karai chuckled. "It's amusing to see all the things that haunt your spirit. You really are a battered soul, aren't you? Yet you refuse to tell anyone, you fear judgment from those you care about." Autumn clenched her fists, bringing them up to her sides. "What do you want, Karai?" She growled.

"Just to talk. Are you still willing to work for me?" She asked. Autumn snorted. "That depends. Are you ready to answer some questions?" Karai grinned. "You may ask one question, but be careful. The answer to that question may just pose more questions that can not be answered."

Autumn unclenched her fists. Karai was toying with her, it was obvious. Here she was, offering a free answer to whatever question she asked. She paused, before finally deciding to ask the one question that had been running through her head the past two weeks.

"Why did you choose me?"

Karai laughed. "Predictable. I didn't choose you, the crystal chose you." She held up the same deep pink jewel that hung in front of her chest. Autumn raised an eyebrow. "Why did it chose me, then?" Karai let the crystal fall back to it's hanging place, waving her pointer finger back and forth. "I told you, one question: one answer." Autumn gritted her teeth.

"I refuse to work for you with all these secrets. Either answer my questions, or I'm done working for you."

Karai shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "And that is your first mistake. You will learn." With that she was gone, and everything was black again.

Autumn's eyes flew open. She looked around her and realized she was now in her room. Well, her room in the turtle's lair. She rubbed her eyes, remembering the dream. Karai hadn't told her much, but she still needed to talk to Leo and Don. This was important, Karai had threatened her without the exact words. She knew exactly what Karai would be going for to get to her.

One of the boys.

Her heart stopped, and she threw her covers off of her. She flung the door open then began to rush down the hall. She stopped at the stairs and looked around. The TV was on, but it was the black and white static. Everything was silent, and there was a eerie feel in the air. She looked around and her eyes landed on a lump on the floor.

She had to squint her eyes to see. Even with the TV on, the lair was still extremely dark. She took two slow steps down and froze. She blinked a few times, trying to get the image in front of her to fade. But it wouldn't. Laying in the middle of the living room floor in a bloodied heap, was the one and only Michelangelo.

Her heart stopped, and her blood ran cold. She almost tripped over her own legs as she fled down the rest of the stairs and fell to her knees next to him. He was laying on his stomach, face in the floor. His arms and legs were spread out. She turned him over slowly and a painful gasp escaped her throat.

There was a large gash over where his stomach would be. Blood continued to pour out of it, making the red puddle on the floor bigger. Hot tears fell down her cheeks. Even though he was older than her, she'd always thought of him as a little brother. Memories of his blue eyes glowing with life, energy, and innocence. Of all his brothers, he was the last one who deserved to get hurt.

Her shaking hands slowly covered her mouth and she began to shake her head. "No..." she whispered. "I'm too late.. Mikey, oh Mikey I'm so sorry..." She pulled her right hand away, caressing her cheek with her left hand. She began to trace the rim of his bandana with a loud sob.

She regretted all the times she'd teased him, told him to be quiet. She yearned to hear his voice one more time, for him to beg her to look at his comics with him. "Mikey, oh Mikey.." More tears fell down her face. Her finger was just over the brim of his eye, when both of his eyes flew open.

She jumped, elated at first from the fact he was alive, but then her blood yet again ran cold. There were black holes where his eyes should have been. Red rimmed them, and the red began to run down her face. She instantly realized it was blood. His black eye holes were bleeding.

"Mikey..?" She whispered. He then did something she wasn't expecting. He smiled. It wasn't one of his friendly child-like smiles. This smile was twisted, and evil. His once flat pearly white teeth were sharp, and a shade of dark yellow. The pointed teeth spread apart, a long double-tipped tongue sticking out as he let out a hiss.

She pushed away from him, crawling backwards in horror as he rose from the floor. Blood still poured from his gash as he stepped forward. She scrambled to her feet as she backed herself against the wall. "Mikey, what's wrong with you?" she cried.

Then he laughed. A deep, evil laugh. The kind of laugh you'd only hear in a horrifying nightmare. His stuck his arms out as he tried to grab her. She screamed, shoving him to the side as she ran past him. "Don!" she screeched, running to his lab. "Don! Something's wrong with Mikey!"

She pushed his lab door open and almost threw up at the smell that filled her nose. "Gross, what the hell is.." Her words trailed off as she looked into the lab. Laying on a lab table was Leo. The skin and meat on his left arm was completely gone, showing only what little meat was left and bone. Her eyes widened in horror from all the blood that covered him.

His head turned and he looked at her, pure white eyes almost glowing. She covered her mouth to keep from vomiting. Where his lower jaw would be, was gone. Only his upper row of sharpened teeth, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. His stomach had been completely cut open, organs shinning in the light that hung above him.

Standing next to him was Don. The first thing she noticed about him was the fact half his skull was.. missing. Like a chunk of it had been ripped off, his brain hanging out. His throat was slit open, blood running down his body from the gash. He looked down at Leo and turned on a small, circular saw. He grinned, chuckling as he brother looked up at him and gave him what would have been a smile, if his whole mouth was there. She let out a cry when she realized that Don was directing him.

She turned around to run back down the hall, she couldn't see this anymore. She took two stepped forward when she ran into something, pain shooting through her nose. She groaned, realizing it was probably broken now. She gently rubbed it to ease the pain, then looked up and saw the scariest thing out of everything she'd seen so far in her life. It was far worse than any nightmare or horror movie, worse than anything she'd seen so far tonight.

It was Raphael. But it didn't look like the Raphael she knew. His right eye had one of his bloodied sai shoved deeply into it. His left eye was glowing white, like Leo's. White foam began to bubble around his mouth. He stood perfectly still, arms hung at his sides. His other sai was in his left hand, blood dripping from the end.

He smirked at her, one corner of his mouth rising up in a half grin. She took a step backwards, and he took a step forwards. She felt like her lungs wouldn't work. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think. All she knew was that this was a nightmare come to life.

* * *

Raphael sat on the couch watching TV with his arms crossed, grumbling to himself. Leo decided it'd be a good idea to pay April and Casey a visit at their apartment to see if everything was okay. Since it had been two weeks and there hadn't been word one from Karai, Leo was beginning to become a little on edge. He'd taken Don and Mikey with him, but left Raph at the lair to make sure nothing happened.

He gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes. "This is so stupid," he growled. "They get to go out and see April and Case, but here I am stuck at home babysitting this brat."

He turned his head to look at her. She had been curled up asleep on the couch next to him for the past two hours. She was wearing long black pajama pants that had small cartoon pictures of him and his brothers all over them. A black tank top clung to her skin, and a few strands of her black hair fell into her face.

He almost hated her. She was a spy for Karai, even she had admitted it. But for some reason his brothers and Master Splinter trusted her. Well, he didn't. She was a no good Foot following brat. She just barged into their home acting like she belonged here, thinking she knew them all inside out just because she'd seen them on a few TV shows.

He glared down at her sleeping body, wanting nothing more than to tie her up and toss her into the river. He crossed his arms and turned back to the TV.

Some stupid movie was on that was something about a detective trying to find his missing daughter. He had hardly been paying attention when he felt the girl stir next to him.

Her eye lids were twitching, and she had begun to frown. Her head began to slowly turn back and forth as she let out a small wine. He narrowed one eye at her. "Mikey, no.." she whispered. Raph blinked in confusion. She was dreaming about Mikey?

Then her whole body began to twitch, her arms wrapped around herself, almost as if she was shielding herself from something. Her cries got louder, and her head began to whip back and forth violently. His eyes widened. She was having a nightmare.

He reached for her shoulders to try to wake her up, but she pulled away. "No!" She yelled, "No, get away from me!" Her eyes flew open and she stared at him. "Are you okay?" He asked. Her eyes widened more and she shook her head, throwing her hands up in air. "No, don't hurt me!"

He frowned. "I'm not gonna hurt you." He looked into her eyes. They were filled with terror. Then he noticed her pupils. They were small, barely the size of a pen head. She pushed herself against the couch and shook her head. "Your face.. who.. who did this to you?" She whispered. He snorted. "Great, now you're sounding like Mikey."

* * *

Autumn shook her head as Raphael took another step closer. "Your face," she whispered. "Who.. who did this to you?" Raph lifted a hand, pointing at her stomach. She tilted her head to the side, confused. She looked down and let out a pathetic cry. A tear fell down her cheek as she lifted her bloodied hands. She turned back to Raphael.

"M.. Me?"

He grinned.

* * *

The moment Raphael knew something was wrong was when he saw a single tear fall down her face. He sighed, obvious to him that even though her eyes were open, her nightmare wasn't over. More tears fell down her face. "I'm so sorry.." She whimpered. "I didn't mean for this to happen, I never wanted to hurt you.."

Raphael scoffed. "You didn't hurt me!" As soon as he said it, she began to scream. A real scream that came easily from the top of her lungs.

* * *

Demon Raphael pushed her backwards and she found herself in Don's arms. He looked down at her, then shoving her on the second lab table next to the one Leo was on. Before she could react, he strapped her ankles and wrists down. She pulled and struggled as hard as she could, but the leather just wouldn't give.

Don turned to Leo with the saw in his hand. Leo just lay there as Don neared his face with the saw. Autumn screeched, and Don's head whipped around to face her. He grinned. "You're next." He growled. She shook her head. "No!" She screamed as Don pressed the saw into Leo's forehead. She shut her eyes, but it was the sounds of the saw cutting through his flesh and bones, and then the blood piercing scream that escaped his lips that almost stopped her heart.

"Please, stop this.." She whispered, her face now wet from the tears she'd cried. A hand was set on her shoulder and she looked up to see Raphael. He was grinning down at her and chuckling. "You need to wake up." He growled. She paused, and he continued. "You need to wake up Autumn, you're having a nightmare." He began to laugh again, an evil smile spreading across his foamed lips.

* * *

Raphael shook her gently with one hand on her shoulder. "Wake up, Autumn. You need to wake up. You're having a nightmare." Suddenly her screaming stopped, and her pupils began to return to their normal dilating. She looked around her, holding her knees to her chest.

"Wha.. What happened?" She whispered, her voice shaking. Raphael frowned. "You were having some kind of nightmare." Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at him. "So.. it wasn't.. real?" He shook his head. "No, it wasn't."

She began to shake violently, worse than she had when she was sleeping. His stared at her as she buried her face into her knees, a sob escaping her lips. "Hey.." he whispered. "Hey, come here.." There was a sudden softness in his voice that he had never used before as he slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.

Her cries worsened. He didn't particularly like this girl, but whatever she had dreamed about seemed to have done something to her. He'd seen how Mikey acted after his nightmares as a child, but it was never anything compared to this. He sure had never had a nightmare while awake.

She buried her face into his neck and he could feel the wetness of her tears run against his skin as she weakly clung to him, as if he was keeping her from her death. Without thinking, he reached up and brushed some hair out of her face and she sniffled, looking up to face him.

Her eyes were red from the crying. They made her usually bright green eyes brighter, an almost aqua color. If she didn't look like she was in so much pain, he would have thought they were beautiful.

He mentally slapped himself. He couldn't think that, not about her. Not only was she a spy, it was obvious to everyone her and Leo had something between them, even if they didn't know it.

Her bottom lip quivered, and more tears fell. He brushed the remaining strands of hair from her face, then rested a hand under her chin and lifted it slightly. "Hey.. whatever it was, it was only a dream. You're safe." His voice still had that foreign softness. He silently thanked the fact his brothers weren't here to hear it, or they'd never let him hear the end of it.

"It was so.. so.. it seemed so real," she whimpered. He shook his head. "But it wasn't. It was just a dream. You're safe now, I'm not gonna let anything hurt ya." He pulled her back into his arms, holding her tight as she cried harder.

Hearing her cries, seeing her tears and the redness in her eyes, the way she trembled against him, sent a pain straight into his heart that he'd never felt before.

_Oh shell, what is she doing to me.._

The sound of the lair door sliding open broke his thoughts. Autumn clung tighter to him, digging her finger nails into his flesh. He didn't even flinch. Unlike humans, their skin was thicker. It felt like a small pinch and he ignored it. She pushed herself under his arms as if trying to hide herself. She was in a small, pathetic ball in his lap.

"Whoa Raphie, we can't leave you two alone for too long, can we?" It was Mikey. Raphael gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted right now was Mikey's big mouth. "Shut up," he snapped. "She had a nightmare!" Mikey stopped smiling and looked down at her, new worry in his eyes. He knew better than anyone how bad nightmares could be.

Leo rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside the couch. "What happened?" He asked Raphael, but dark blue eyes glued to Autumn. She instantly responded to his voice like a robot. She pulled herself out of Raph's arms and looked at Leo. A tear fell down her face.

"Leo, you've got your arm.." she whispered, gently touching it. He flinched, but kept his eyes on hers. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" She opened her mouth to say something, but Mikey's voice interrupted. "Give her some space bro."

Images of him laying broken on the floor, the large gash in his plastron and the blood puddle on the floor ran through her mind. She turned around to see him standing a few feet behind the couch, arms crossed and his blue eyes glittering with life. She remembered just how much she'd missed those baby blue eyes.

Without warning, she jumped over the back of the couch and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. His eyes widened in surprise, but he gently hugged her back. "Uh, I missed you too dudette." She began to cry, tears were running down her face like they had when she'd found him on the floor.

"Mikey, oh God _Mikey_, you're okay. Thank God you're okay." She sobbed. He turned to his brothers and raised an eyebrow. They all three shrugged with confused looks on their face. "Yeah I'm okay, we just went to see April." She hugged him tighter. "I'm so sorry for all the mean things I said to you. I'll let you read your comics to me anytime you want, you can have dessert before dinner, just _please_ don't leave." Her voice was quiet, desperate.

"I'm not going anymore, count on it." He said back. Donatello stepped forward. "What exactly did you dream about, Autumn?" He asked. She stopped crying and paused, slowly pulling away from Mikey and turning to look at Leo. "I need to talk to you." He stood. "What about?" She swallowed. "Karai.."

In less than a second Leo was over the couch and by her side, followed by Raphael. "What happened?" Leo asked, now wearing his serious face. Autumn shook her head, looking to the floor.

"It was a dream, but I know it was really Karai. She's found a way to enter my dreams." Donatello nodded. "That's why she didn't send you with any device to communicate, because she can do it mentally somehow." He pointed out. Leo ignored him, hard eyes on Autumn. "What did she say?"

Autumn shrugged. "She just asked me if I was still willing to work for her, I told her no and that I wanted answers. I asked her why she chose me, and all she said was that she didn't choose me, the crystal chose me." Leo crossed his arms. "Wait, what crystal?"

She looked up at him. "She has some dark pink crystal she wears around her neck. I think that's how she's been dimension hopping. After I still refused to work for her, all she said was that it was my first mistake, and that I would learn. And that's when I had.. that God awful nightmare.. Nightmare isn't even a word to describe it. God, it was so real.." Her eyes began to water again, like she was about to cry. Raphael chirped in. "Yeah, you were having the nightmare with you eyes wide open."

Leo placed his hand on her shoulder. "It was just a dream, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She nodded, whipping her eyes. Donatello raised an eyebrow and began to rub his chin with a hand. Leo knew that look. "What do you think, Donnie?" He asked. Donatello didn't answer immediately.

"I have to do some research before I start making assumptions. What I do know is Karai has found some way to manipulate her mind, bending reality from nightmares. When she said it seemed real, it's very well possible it was real, to her. I have a theory, but I need to do research." Autumn refused to look at him. She'd greeted Leo and Mikey, elated that they were alright, but she hadn't even looked at or spoken to him. He couldn't help but notice.

"Maybe you should get back to bed. Can you sleep alone tonight?" Leo asked her, looking down into her eyes. Raphael felt a warm spark he was unfamiliar with fill his chest. He gritted his teeth, knowing Leo was asking her if she wanted him to stay the night with her. To his relief, she nodded.

"I'll be fine. We should all get to bed." Leo nodded. "Alright, I'm going to go talk to Master Splinter. He might know something about this pink crystal you speak of." He looked at her one more time before turning and heading to the dojo. Mikey was yawning, already half-way up the stairs. Don had already gone into his lab to do research. Raphael looked at Autumn.

"You want me to make sure you get to your room okay?" He asked, a teasing tone in his voice. Autumn looked up at him and gave him the best smirk she could at the moment. "I think I'll make it fine, but if you think it's too dangerous, go ahead and lead the way." She gestured to the stairs with one hand.

He walked with her up the stairs and down the hall in silence. Once they got to the door, he turned the knob and opened it for her. She took two steps in, then turned to face him. "Raphael.." His heart skipped a beat. "Thank you," she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?" He asked. She paused, before giving him a small, sweet smile. "For bringing me back." She then shut the door, leaving him speechless. He shook his head and headed down the hall and into his room. He shut his door behind him and grunted.

He turned and landed a strong punch into the wall.

_What's wrong with me?_

He had an idea, but he refused to admit it._ Not her, anyone but her.._ He landed another punch in the wall before finally walking over to his hammock, laying down and placing one arm over his eyes. The other lay over his stomach. Thoughts began to swirl in his head.

Like how the first week she'd been here, he wanted to just slice her head off her shoulders. She'd proven her temper could easily match his one night. He grinned as the memory of the night flooded over him.

_Flashback:_

_Autumn gritted her teeth as her green eyes glared up at Raphael._

_"I am not going to betray you or your brothers!" She spat. He snorted, crossing his arms and glaring back at her, green eyes boring into green eyes. "Yeah, that's why you're working with Karai?" She stomped her foot on the ground. "I'm not working for Karai! I just told her I would so she'd let me leave! I've told you this a million times over!" He scoffed, raising an eyebrow._

_"Oh, so that means I should believe you?" She took a step forward, her face only inches from his as she stood on her toes to get eyes level. "I don't care if you believe me. I'm not asking you to like me, Raphael." He smirked at her words._

_"Good, cause you could never have been born for all I care."_

_This snapped something in her. Her green eyes fill with pure emotion, they almost began to glow with fury. Before he could react her hand flew behind his back and clamped its self around the knot it in his bandana. She had a firm grip as she pressed his face forward, their noses almost touching. His eyes grew wide when he saw just how threatening her eyes were._

_"Listen you inconsiderate reptile," she hissed. "Just cause you're bigger than me, don't think that for one second I'll hesitate to skin your sorry, pathetic ass. I may be small, but I'll have you screaming like a little bitch at a Justin Bieber concert in five seconds if you piss me off. So here's a suggestion, keep your damn mouth shut and your opinions to yourself unless you want me to make it to where you can't ever use that big mouth of yours again. Kapeesh?"_

_She let go of his bandana and shoved him backwards, then turned to storm out of the kitchen. Mikey and Leo sat at the kitchen table. Mikey whistled and looked up at Raph. "Well dang Raph, I haven't seen you that scared since you found that cockroach in your bed." He laughed at his own joke. Raphael narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Shut up, Mikey."_

* * *

__That was the first time in his life that someone's threat had ever scared him. He sighed. Then he could have ripped the hair out of her hair with no second thoughts. Now though, that was another story. That night she had a flame inside her, she seemed like a real threat. He was so sure he hated her.

Then tonight had to happen. She was so scared, so vulnerable, so.. weak. Her green eyes flashed in his mind. The way she looked at him, the way she had needed him. He shook his head, trying to clear his head of the images and thoughts. It didn't work.

Even though he could hardly admit it to himself, he knew deep inside that he was falling in love with the dark-haired beauty that had stormed into his and his brother's lives.

* * *

It had been almost two hours since the boys had all gone to their rooms. She knew they were asleep, and what she was about to do was extremely risky. In the two hours of her being alone in her room, she'd done a lot of thinking.

She had to leave.

She didn't want to leave. She wanted desperately to stay, but she wanted them safe more than anything. With them still protecting her, they would be in danger. She already had everything she was taking with her in her bag. She had four pieces of paper out, planning to write each boy their own individual note. The first one was for Mikey.

Dear Mikey,  
I'm going to miss you. You're like a little brother to me, even though you're older than me by three years. I'll miss kicking your sorry shell at your own video games. Speaking of which, I left a goodbye present for you under my pillow. Take care of yourself Mikey, your brother's won't always be there to protect you.

Next was Don's.

Dear Donnie,  
Sorry if I offended you tonight by not talking to you. In my nightmare you were.. scary. I'm sorry. You're brilliant, don't let all that brain go to waste. Although I can't imagine you would. You're like an older brother to me. You're so sweet and modest, I'm going to miss drinking coffee with you in the mornings.

She paused before writing the next letter.

Dear Leo,  
I know what you're thinking, don't come after me. I'm doing this to protect you, Master Splinter, and your brothers. After Karai threatening me, saying that I would learn, I knew she was threatening you guys. I can't just sit here and put you or anyone else in jeopardy for my own sake. I'm sorry, but you have to trust me. I'm not going to Karai, I'm just going to try to hide and see what happens. Maybe after a few weeks she'll just forget about me and I can get a job, and an apartment. I'm going to miss you, and I wish I could see you again, but I can't. It's just too dangerous. Again I ask, do not try to follow me. Please.

She looked at the last blank piece of paper. So many thoughts swirled in her head of what to say to him, but she just couldn't put any of it into the right words. She sighed, knowing two words would explain it all perfectly.

Dear Raphael,  
I'm sorry.

She folded each note into squares, writing their names on each paper for who it was to. She grabbed her bag and quietly opened her bedroom door. She looked down the hall, all the doors were shut. She let out a breath and slowly headed to the stairs.

She looked into the living room and saw it empty. She ran to the lair door and looked at the large handle, taking a deep breath, and opening the door. No alarms sounded as she took a step into the sewers, turning her head to get her last look at the lair.

"I'm sorry guys, you know I love you. That's why I'm doing this.."

Then she was gone, the door sliding shut behind her.


End file.
